fihi ma fihi,by rumi

D I S C O U R S E S
OF RUMI
(OR FIHI MA FIHI)
BASED ON THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION BY
A. J. ARBERRY
J
Reprinted with permission of the copyright holder
OMPHALOSKEPSIS
Ames, Iowa

iii
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preface
iv
copy, post or retransmit any of these writings,
that you recognize the copyrights for these publications
belong to the author and that you include
the statement: Reprinted with permission of the
copyright holder.
The poetry of Jalal al-Din Rumi has recently
become popular and well known, thanks to new
translations by Coleman Barks, Robert Bly and
others. Anyone who is looking to experience
Rumi’s incandescent love need go no further than
his volumes of verse, but if you want to see the
subtleties of his wisdom and find insights into the
real meaning of his poetry, then Rumi’s
Discourses hold the key.
Until this publication, as far as the publishers
know, all previous translations of Rumi’s
Discourses into English have been made by scholars,
written from the world of academia. While
their books were published with care to preserve
the accuracy of Rumi’s literary meaning, this publication
available here strives to restore the subtle
impacts of Rumi’s words that carry his real message.
v
Rumi is not just telling stories that teach, or
relating his philosophical and religious understanding,
as the previous translations have
focused on, but his words have been crafted to
transmit something of great substance. As the
Sufis have often said, this matter cannot be studied
from the outside, it can only be discovered
from within. No doubt such statements will raise
disagreements, but we need only refer to Rumi’s
own discourses to see his own opinions on this
very subject. Over and over Rumi criticizes those
who study at length the outward sense of things,
but miss the inner Truth.
It is likely that the Discourses of Rumi will
only appeal to those who are willing to make
some effort to study his words. But if the reader is
willing to read carefully, he or she should be able
to find a greater glimpse of Rumi’s relationship
with life and his spiritually intoxicating intimacy
with the Path of Love.
Comments, suggestions and questions are welcome.
Contact us at: LKPublictn@aol.com
vi
Recognized as perhaps the greatest mystical
poet of Islam, Jalal al-Din Rumi (1207-1273)
communicated something through his writing
that has attracted spiritual seekers from almost
every religion in the world, for hundreds of years.
Even in his day, Rumi was sought out by merchants
and kings, devout worshippers and rebellious
seekers, famous scholars and common peasants,
men and women. At his funeral, Muslims,
Christians, Jews, Arabs, Persians, Turks and
Romans honored him. Listen to his call for seekers
of truth:
Come, come, whoever you are.
Wanderer, worshipper, lover of leaving.
It doesn’t matter.
Ours is not a caravan of despair.
Come, even if you have broken your vow
a hundred times.
Come, yet again, come, come.
introduction
vii
Rumi’s love and honor for all religious traditions
was not always popular in his day, and often
provoked criticism from the more dogmatic. A
story is told that one such public challenge came
from a Muslim dignitary, Qonavi, who confronted
Rumi before an audience. “You claim to be at
one with 72 religious sects,” said Qonavi, “but
the Jews cannot agree with the Christians, and the
Christians cannot agree with Muslims. If they
cannot agree with each other, how could you
agree with them all?” To this Rumi answered,
“Yes, you are right, I agree with you too.”
Although kings were his followers, Rumi’s critics
could never understand why Rumi’s greatest
love and dedication went to what they called,
“the tailors, the cloth-sellers, and the petty shopkeepers
- uncouth and uncultured ruffians.” Yet
even amongst these, his dearest companions,
Rumi allowed no vanity. The story is told that one
day, while Rumi was in deep contemplation, surrounded
by his disciples, a drunkard walked in
shouting and stumbling. The man staggered
toward Rumi, and then fell on him. To Rumi’s followers
such a disgrace of their teacher was intolviii
erable, and they rose as one to rush the ignorant
fool. Rumi stopped them with his raised hand,
saying, “I thought this intruder was the one who
was intoxicated, but now I see it is not he, but my
own students who are drunk!”
There are thousands who believe that Rumi’s
presence (baraka) still exists today, and still
teaches. If this is true, it is certainly largely due to
the remarkable vitality that can be found in his
writings and poetry, and a relevancy they contain
that reaches to our inner core. Rumi’s poetry has
captured the hearts of spiritual seekers around the
world because of its depth and beauty. His verses
sketch out the whole panorama of life, from
human sorrow and devotion, to the universal
breadth of God’s hidden plan. His poetry seems
fathomless and endless.
Rumi has also left to us another manuscript
that is not so well known - the collection of discourses
given at the gatherings with his students.
It Is What It Is (Fihi ma Fihi) is a record of these
spiritual discussions that often followed music
and dance, the reciting of sacred poems and
phrases, and the now famous Whirling Dervish
ix
exercise that Rumi originated to enliven and bring
spiritual opening to the rather somber people of
Konya, Turkey, in his day.
This present book is edited and rewritten from
A. J. Arberry’s original English translation, published
in 1961 as Discourses of Rumi. Arberry
himself admitted that his scholastic, literal, work
“is not an easy book to read…and the original is
by no means easy always to understand.”
According to more recent studies of the original
manuscript (Chittick and Shah, for example,)
Arberry’s translation also has some technical
errors, and better understandings of Rumi’s subtle
spiritual teachings have come to light. I hope this
edition will help illuminate and clarify such passages,
and to build on Professor Arberry’s contribution.
If you were to compare the original manuscript
of Rumi’s discourses with this present
book, the first change you might notice would be
the dropping of phrases like, “may Allah bless
him and give him peace,” after every reference to
a saint or prophet, which was the proper and
respectful way of speaking in Rumi’s day, and
x
still is today in some parts of the world. Also,
Rumi makes numerable references to the Koran
and quotes from it frequently. Since Rumi’s listeners
knew the Koran well, such quotes were
familiar and personal brush strokes. However, to
many readers of this book this will not be so.
Therefore, I have removed a few quotes that
could prove confusing to those who do not know
the Koran, or might disturb the direction of
Rumi’s message.
Rumi’s reference to God is always deeply personal.
Whether he uses the masculine term
“Allah,” or refers to God as “The Beloved,” it is
nearness and closeness to God that Rumi is
expressing. Unfortunately, the English language
has no personal, neutral pronoun for God. To
always use “He” in referring to God, to mankind,
or to any general person, was common practice
when Arberry released his edition, but seems too
masculine today. In Rumi’s Persian language,
“God” has no gender, and Rumi’s symbolic portrayal
of God uses images of the Lover, and the
Ocean, as often as the King. Therefore, I have
used “It” to refer to God in places, to help rise
xi
above gender, but have also used “He” and
“Beloved” to give the personal closeness of
Rumi’s message.
The flow, rhythm and impact of Rumi’s images
are what I have tried to preserve, over everything
else. These inner subtleties are, paradoxically,
more important than the apparent point he is
making. For example, in discourse Twenty-Six
Rumi says, “Beware! Do not say, ‘I have understood.’
The more you understand and grasp these
words, the farther you will be from understanding
them. Their meaning comes in not understanding.”
Such insights can not be explained, we must
catch them inwardly, with only the subtle clues
that Rumi leaves to guide us.
Follow Rumi closely in this way, and you will
see a string that holds one pearl to the next on this
necklace. Each story, each image, is a new
moment in Rumi’s discourse, yet rarely is it broken
from the last moment. Step by step, Rumi is
dancing. We must be limber and flexible to follow
without losing that thread. Yet, hidden in the
rhythm and pattern of Rumi’s dance is his true
intention.
xii
Even today, Rumi challenges many of our basic
cultural assumptions, and often in ways we may
not notice if we aren’t careful. It is easy to make
the mistake of rejecting an idea on the grounds
that it is out of date, or that it sounds merely like
a traditional, orthodox opinion. I would caution
about ever jumping to this conclusion with Rumi,
since you will more likely find that he has caught
you making the very same error.
For example, in discourse Twelve, Rumi asks
the question, “If a saint, who carries God’s secret
jewel [spiritual grace], strikes someone and
breaks their nose and jaw, who is the wronged
party?” Rumi claims it is the saint who has been
wronged. “Since the saint is consumed in God,
their actions are God’s actions. God is not called
a wrongdoer.”
At first glance, this smacks of religious
zealotry. The same sort that brought about the
killings and murders of the Inquisition. No different
than any other self-justified excuse.
Anyone can blame God for their own choices,
we say. But read Rumi’s words closely; he is not
talking about justifying violence. He is asking
xiii
what makes an act right or wrong, good or bad.
He is asking us to look beneath our cultural
ideas of right and wrong to see the true cause:
God’s will.
But the problem doesn’t stop here, since we
have not yet caught Rumi’s vision. Our culture
rejects ideas of Absolute Right or Wrong. We
have learned that each person must decide for
themselves what is true, and no outside authority
has the right to force their perspective. And so,
after centuries of petty religious battles and
church-state slaughters, we have solved the problem
socially by placing relative truth above
Absolute Truth. In other words, we still don’t
believe the saint has the right to strike out.
Rumi knows all this, and is way ahead. He
goes on to say, “A westerner lives in the West. An
oriental comes to visit. The westerner is a stranger
to the oriental, but who is the real stranger? Is not
the oriental a stranger to all the West?” In other
words, sure the idea of a Holy War, or a true saint
using violence sounds strange and wrong to us,
but does that mean it is wrong? Who is the real
stranger to Truth?
xiv
Rumi continues, “This whole world is but a
house, no more. Whether we go from this room to
that room, or from this corner to that corner, still
are we not in the same house? But the saints who
possess God’s jewel have left this house, they have
gone beyond. Mohammed said, ‘Islam began a
stranger and will return a stranger as it began.’
In this way, Rumi’s words come right through
time and ask us today, “Can you accept that a
true Lover of God could carry God’s authority?
Can you see, because of what they carry, they will
always be a stranger to this world?” So who is out
of date? Certainly anyone bound by the culture of
their time, anyone who is not moved by something
greater.
If you see what is happening here, you will see
that Rumi is using our own unexamined aversions
and dislikes to teach us. Some of Rumi’s most
profound poetry is ignored because of such
thorns, prompting him to say, in discourse Thirty-
Five: “How wonderfully gracious God is! It sets a
seal on those who listen and do not understand,
argue and yet learn nothing. God is gracious. Its
wrath is gracious, and even Its lock is gracious.
xv
But Its lock is nothing next to Its unlocking, for
the grace of that is indescribable. If I shatter into
pieces, it is through the infinite grace of God’s
unlocking.”
This raises an interesting observation. Rumi
was never general in his discussions, he always
spoke to specific situations. He addressed the particular
beliefs and conflicts of those around him,
and he was a witness and spokesman for The Way
as it was manifesting in his day. And still his
words can teach us now.
If a traveler tripped over a rock in their path
700 years ago, and from this event altered the
course of their life, we might conclude the rock
was only incidental. But if that same rock trips
thousands, through the centuries, each walking
away with a different message and a different lesson,
then can we call this incidental? When foolish
people trip, they get up and walk away as if
nothing happened. They learn nothing. A wise
person will find a greater meaning for their fall.
But a rock that trips travelers in every age, each
time imparting a different meaning, that is not
just a rock. That is God.
xvi
Many of the terms Rumi uses have a very different
meaning in their Islamic context than they
do in their Christian sense. For example, the word
“faith” amongst many Sufis is much closer to
what we might call “knowingness.” This is not
the same as “belief,” which refers to how a person
chooses to see things. The Quakers had a
term known as “convincement” that expresses
some of this, but still betrays too much of man’s
choice in the matter. As Rumi uses the word
“faith,” he is talking more about the effect of having
experienced something that changes how we
see life, than he is talking about having been sold
on some doctrine.
Likewise, when Rumi refers to Islam, he is
talking about The Way. He is not talking about
the preconceived notions that people have about
Islam today, or even in his day, but the spiritual
path itself and the religious tradition. It is not
always easy to understand this as Rumi meant it,
just as Rumi’s use of Mohammed as the Prophet
and Voice of God is easily interpreted as traditional
belief, which is only the outward cloak of
what Rumi is really saying. It is just this sort of
xvii
blindness that Rumi is speaking to when he says,
in discourse Seventy: “Wherever men or women
put a big lock, that is a sign of something precious
and valuable. Just like the snake that guards a
treasure, do not regard what repels you, but look
instead at the preciousness of the treasure.”
The title of Rumi’s discourses, Fihi ma Fihi,
was translated by Arberry to In It What Is In It,
but I believe It Is What It Is comes closer to
Rumi’s intent. In any case, this title is filled with
multiple meanings, just as all of Rumi’s works
are. This may be a foreign idea, that someone
could be communicating many things, at many
levels, at the same time, but let us look closely at
this title for a moment.
First, it is making a very specific, physical reference.
“It,” meaning this manuscript, is the same
as what is in “It,” meaning Rumi’s most famous
work, his six volume poem, the Masnavi. In other
words, the Fihi ma Fihi provides explanations and
keys to unlock the meaning of the Masnavi. The
two works were written parallel to each other,
and contain many references and stories that are
continued from one to the other. This being true,
xviii
it is quite surprising that Rumi’s discourses have
not gained more attention. But this is only one of
the title’s meanings, and by no means the most
important.
At another level, It Is What It Is asks us not to
put into this manuscript more or less than what it
is. It is not clothed in the high cloth of religious
sanctity, nor does it speak as some authority.
Rumi wants us simply to see it for what it is. He
wants us to be emotionally honest and not to get
carried away with the form. In other words, don’t
become attached to the beauty of this vase, it is
merely a holder of The Rose.
At the same time, “It” refers to God. Therefore
God is what God is. This is the same as the
Muslim saying, “There is no God but God.” In
other words, Rumi asks, “What more is there to
say?” All the words here, all the stories and explanations
are saying nothing more than this. There
is no more to reality than reality. God is. Reality
is. It is what it is. Explanations cannot explain it.
Words cannot reveal it.
And so, “It,” meaning the manuscript, is what
“It,” meaning God or reality, is. Therefore, the
xix
Fihi ma Fihi is cut from the same cloth as reality,
it is the same substance as God.
If you can see these many meanings, all swimming
like fish in the ocean that is the title, then
you will know how to read Rumi. May it also
help you catch real fish as well.
- Doug Marman
E-Mail questions and comments to: Little Known
Publications at LKPublictn@aol.com
Introduction Copyright 1999 by Doug Marman
Composition Copyright 2000 by Omphaloskepsis
All Rights Reserved



Rumi stated: Mohammed, the great Prophet, once
said, “The worst of scholars are those who visit
princes, and the best of princes are those who visit
scholars. Wise is the prince who stands at the
door of the poor, and wretched are the poor who
stand at the door of the prince.”
Now, taking the outward sense of these words,
people think that scholars should never visit
princes or they will become the worst of scholars.
That is not the true meaning. Rather, the worst of
scholars are those who depend upon princes, and
who revolve their life and purpose around the
attention and favor of princes. Such scholars take
up learning in hopes that princes will give them
presents, hold them in esteem, and promote them
to office.
Therefore, such scholars improve themselves
and pursue knowledge on account of princes.
They become scholars from their fear of princes.
They subject themselves to the princes’ control.
They conform themselves to the plans that princes
discourse 1
map out for them. So, whether they visit a prince,
or a prince visits them, still in every case they’re
the visitors, and it is the prince who is visited.
However, when scholars do not study to please
princes, but instead pursue learning from first to
last for the sake of truth—when their actions and
words spring from the truth they have learned
and put to use because this is their nature and
they cannot live otherwise—just as fish can only
thrive in water—such scholars subject themselves
to the control and direction of God. They become
blessed with the guidance of the prophets.
Everyone living in their time is touched by them
and derives inspiration from their example,
whether they are aware of the fact or not.
Should such scholars visit a prince, they are
still the ones visited and the prince is the visitor,
because in every case it is the prince who takes
from these scholars and receives help from them.
Such scholars are independent of the prince. They
are like the light-giving sun, whose whole function
is giving to all, universally, converting stones
into rubies and carnelians, changing mountains
into mines of copper, gold, silver and iron, mak-
4 V DISCOURSES OF RUMI
FIHI MA FIHI V 5
ing the earth fresh and green, bringing fruit to the
trees, and warmth to the breeze. Their trade is
giving, they do not receive. The Arabs have
expressed this in a proverb: “We have learned in
order to give, we have not learned in order to
take.” And so in all ways they are the visited, and
the prince is the visitor.
The thought comes to me at this point to comment
on a verse of the Koran, although it is not
related to the present discourse. However, this
idea comes to me now, and I want to express it so
that it can go on record.
O Prophet, say to the prisoners in your hands.
‘If God knows of any good in your hearts,
He will give you more than He has taken,
And He will forgive you.
Surely God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.’
This verse was revealed when Mohammed had
defeated the unbelievers, slaying, plundering and
taking prisoners, whom he tied hand and foot.
Amongst the prisoners was his uncle, ‘Abbas. The
chained people wept and wailed all night in their
helpless humiliation. They had given up all hope
of their lives, expecting the sword and slaughter.
Mohammed, seeing this, laughed.
“Look!” the prisoners exclaimed. “He shows
the traits of a person after all. This claim that he
is superhuman is not true. There he stands looking
at us prisoners in these chains, enjoying it.
Just like everyone ruled by their passions—when
they gain victory over their enemies and see their
opponents vanquished to their will, they rejoice
and feel happiness.”
“Not so,” answered Mohammed, seeing what
was in their hearts. “Never would I laugh at the
sight of enemies conquered by my hand, or the
sight of your suffering. But I do rejoice, in fact I
laugh, because with inner vision I see myself dragging
and drawing people by collars and chains,
out of the black smoke of Hell into Paradise,
while they complain and cry, ‘Why are you
pulling us from this pit of self-destruction into
that garden of security?’ So, laughter overcomes
me.
“But since you have not yet been granted the
vision to see what I am saying, listen. God commands
me to say this to you: First you gathered
your forces and mustered your might, trusting
completely in your own virtue and valor. You said
6 V DISCOURSES OF RUMI
FIHI MA FIHI V 7
to yourselves, ‘We will conquer the Muslims and
vanquish them.’ But you did not see that One
Power more powerful than yourselves. You did
not know the One Force above your force. And so
all that you planned turned out the opposite. Even
now in your fear, you still hold onto your beliefs
and do not see the One Reality over you. Rather
than facing that Power, you see my power,
because it is easier for you to see yourselves conquered
by me.
“But even in your present state, still I say to
you: If you recognize my power, and accept yourselves
vanquished to my will in all circumstances,
I can still deliver you from this grief. He, who is
able to bring forth a black bull from a white bull,
can also produce a white bull from a black bull.
Turn away from your former ways, and likewise I
will return to you all the property that has been
taken from you, in fact many times as much. Even
more, I will absolve you of all blame, and grant
you prosperity in this world and the world to
come.”
“I have repented,” said ‘Abbas. “I have turned
from my former ways.”
Mohammed said, “God demands a token of
this claim you make, for easy it is to boast of love,
but other is the proof thereof.”
“In God’s name, what token do you demand?”
asked ‘Abbas.
“Give all the properties that remain to you for
the army of Islam, so the army of Islam may be
strengthened,” said Mohammed. “That is, of
course, if you have truly become a Muslim and
desire the good of Islam and Muslimdom.”
“Prophet of God, what remains to me?” said
‘Abbas. “They have taken everything, leaving me
not so much as an old reed-mat.”
“You see,” said Mohammed, “you have not
yet given up your old ways. You have not yet seen
the light of truth. Should I tell you how much
property you still have? Where you have hidden
it? To whom you have entrusted it? Where you
concealed and buried it?”
“God forbid!” exclaimed ‘Abbas.
“Did you not entrust so much property specifically
to your mother?” asked Mohammed. “Did
you not bury your gold under such and such a
wall? Did you not tell your mother in detail, ‘If I
return, give this back to me. But if I do not return
8 V DISCOURSES OF RUMI
FIHI MA FIHI V 9
safely, then spend so much upon such and such an
object, and give so much to So-and-So, and so
much is to be for yourself’?”
When ‘Abbas heard these words he raised his
hand in complete acceptance. “Prophet of God,”
he said, “truly, I have always thought you carried
the fortune of the old kings, such as Haman,
Shaddad, Nimrod and the rest. But now that you
have spoken I know this favor is divine, from the
world beyond, from the throne of God.”
“Now you have spoken truly,” said
Mohammed. “This time I have heard the snapping
of the girdle of doubt, that you had within
you. I have an ear hidden within my inmost Soul,
and with that hidden ear I can hear the snapping
of doubt within anyone. Now it is true for a fact
that you believe.”
I have told this story to the Amir for this reason:
In the beginning you came forward as a
champion of Muslimdom. “I ransom myself,”
you said. “I sacrifice my own desires, considerations
and judgement so that Islam will remain
secure and strong.” But because you put your
trust in your own plans, loosing sight of God, and
forgetting that all things proceed from God, all
your intentions have turned out the opposite.
Having struck a bargain with the Tartars, you are
unintentionally giving them assistance to destroy
the Syrians and the Egyptians, which in the end
may bring ruin to the realm of Islam. So God has
turned this plan you made for the survival of
Islam, into its own destruction.
Turn your face to God, for things are in a dangerous
condition. Yet, even in your present state,
my friend, do not give up hope, but look to God
and give yourself up to Its will. You thought your
own strength of spirit proceeded from yourself,
just as ‘Abbas and the prisoners did, thus you
have fallen into weakness. But do not give up
hope, because He, who can produce weakness
from strength, can bring forth an even greater
strength from this weakness. Just as Mohammed
rejoiced during the prisoners’ grief, so too I find
joy in your present embarrassment, because from
this weakness and suffering can come something
greater than has been lost. Therefore, do not give
up hope, for
“Of God’s comfort no one despairs,
Except the unbelievers.”
10 V DISCOURSES OF RUMI
FIHI MA FIHI V 11
My purpose in speaking this way to the Amir
was so that he could see the matter correctly, and
accept the will of God humbly. He has fallen out
of an exceedingly high state into a low state, yet
in this way he may grow. Life can show the most
wonderful things, but behind all of them lies a
trap should we forget the source of this wonder.
God has devised this plan so that we will learn
not to claim, out of arrogance and vanity, these
ideas and plans as our own.
If everything were in truth as it appears to be,
Mohammed, endowed as he was with a vision so
penetrating, so illuminated, would never have
cried,
“Lord, show me things as they are.
You show a thing as fair, and in reality it is ugly.
You show a thing as ugly, and in truth it is beautiful.
Show us everything just as it is,
So that we will not fall into the snare.”
Now, your judgement, however good and
luminous it may be, is certainly not better than
the Prophet’s judgement. So do not put your trust
in every idea and every notion, but only in God
and Its wisdom.
Someone said: “Our Master does not utter a
word.”
Rumi answered: Well, it was the thought of me
that brought you to my presence. This thought of
me did not speak with you saying, “How are
things with you?” The thought without words
drew you here. If the reality of me draws you
without words and transports you to another
place, what is so wonderful with words? Words
are the shadow of reality, a mere branch of reality.
Since the shadow draws, how much more the
reality!
Words are a pretext. It is the inner bond that
draws one person to another, not words. If someone
should see a hundred thousand miracles and
divine blessings, still, without an inner connection
to that saint or prophet who was the source of
those miracles, all these phenomena would come
to nothing. It is this inward element that draws
and moves us. If there were no element of amber
discourse 2
in straw, the straw would never be attracted to the
amber [Rumi is referring to static electricity here].
They would not cling to each other, even if you
rubbed the amber with fur. This exchange
between them is hidden, not a visible thing.
It is the thought that brings us. The thought of
a garden brings us to the garden. The thought of
a shop brings us to the shop. However, within
these thoughts is a secret deception. Have you
never gone to a certain place thinking it would be
good, only to find disappointment? These
thoughts then are like a shroud, and within that
shroud someone is hidden. The day reality draws
you and the shroud of thought disappears, there
will be no disappointment. Then you will see reality
as it is, and nothing more.
“Upon that day when the secrets are tried.”
So, what reason is there for me to speak? In
reality that which draws is a single thing, but it
appears to be many. We are possessed by a hundred
different desires. “I want vermicelli,” we say.
“I want ravioli. I want halvah. I want fritters. I
want fruit. I want dates.” We name these one by
one, but the root of the matter is a single thing:
13
the root is hunger. Don’t you see how, once we
have our fill of but one thing, we say, “Nothing
else is necessary?” Therefore, it was not ten or a
hundred things, but one thing that drew us.
“And their number
We have appointed only as a trial.”
The many things of this world are a trial
appointed by God, for they hide the single reality.
There is a saying that the saint is one, humankind
is a hundred, meaning the saint’s whole attention
remains upon the one truth, while people are scattered
over a hundred appearances. But which
hundred? Which fifty? Which sixty? Lost in this
world of mirrored reflections, they are a faceless
people without hands and feet, without mind and
Soul, quivering like a magic talisman, like quicksilver
or mercury. They do not know who they
are. Call them sixty or a hundred or a thousand,
and the saint is one, but is not this view a trial
itself? For the truth is that the hundreds are nothing,
while the saint is a thousand, and a hundred
thousand, and thousands of thousands.
A king once gave a single soldier the rations for
a hundred men. The army protested, but the king
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FIHI MA FIHI V 15
said nothing. When the day of battle arrived, all
the men fled the field, except that one soldier who
fought alone. “There you are,” the king said. “It
was for this I fed one man as a hundred.”
It behooves us to strip away all our prejudices
and seek out a friend of God. However, when
we’ve spent our whole life in the company of people
who lack discrimination, then our own discriminative
faculty becomes weak, and that true
friend may pass us by unrecognized.
Discrimination is a quality that is always hidden
in a person. Don’t you see that an insane person
possesses hands and feet but lacks discrimination?
Discrimination is a subtle essence within
you. Yet, day and night you have been occupied
with nurturing the physical form that does not
know right from wrong. Why have you devoted
all your energies to looking after the physical,
entirely neglecting that subtle essence? The physical
exists through that essence, but that essence in
no way depends on the physical.
The light that shines through the windows of
the eyes and ears—if those windows did not exist,
the light would not stop. It would find other windows
to shine through. If you bring a lamp before
the sun, do you say, “I see the sun by means of
this lamp”? God forbid! If you did not bring the
lamp, the sun would still shine. What need is
there for a lamp?
This is the danger in associating with kings. It
is not that you may lose your life—we must lose
our life in the end anyway, whether today or
tomorrow does not matter. The danger arises
from the fact that when kings enter upon the
scene, and the spell of their influence gains
strength, becoming like a great lamp, the person
who keeps company with them, claims their
friendship, and accepts money from them will
inevitably speak in accordance with their desires.
That person will listen to the kings’ mundane
views with the utmost attention, and will not be
able to deny them.
That is where the danger lies, it leads to a fading
respect for the true source. When you cultivate
the interest of kings, that other interest which
is fundamental to the spiritual life becomes a
stranger to you. The more you proceed down the
path of kings, the more that direction where the
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FIHI MA FIHI V 17
Beloved dwells becomes lost. The more you make
your peace with worldly people, the more the
Beloved turns away from you. Going in their
direction renders you subject to their rule. Once
you have turned down their path, in the end God
gives them power over you.
It is a pity to reach the ocean, and to be satisfied
with a little pitcherful from the sea. After all,
there are pearls in the sea, and from the sea come
a myriad of precious things. What is the value in
just taking water? What pride can intelligent people
have in that? This world is a mere foam fleck
of the True Sea. That Ocean is the science of the
saints, and within that Water is the Pearl Itself.
This world is but foam full of floating jetsam.
Yet, through the turning of the waves, and the
rhythmic surging of the sea in constant motion,
this foam takes on a certain beauty. But this beauty
is a borrowed thing coming from elsewhere. It
is a false coin that sparkles to the eye.
People are the astrolabe of God, but it requires
an astronomer to use the astrolabe. If a vegetableseller
or a greengrocer should find the astrolabe,
what good would it do them? From that astrolabe,
what could they know of the movements of
the circling stars and the positions of the planets,
their influences and so forth? But in the hands of
the astronomer, the astrolabe becomes truly valuable.
Just as this copper astrolabe reflects the movements
of the heavens like a mirror, so the human
being is the astrolabe of God.
“We have honored the children of Adam.”
Those who have been moved by God to see the
one reality and learn Its ways through the astrolabe
of their own being, behold moment by
moment, flash by flash, the testament of God.
Indeed, it is an infinite beauty that never leaves
their mirror.
God has servants who cloak themselves in a
wisdom, knowingness and grace invisible to others.
Out of their excessive jealousy and love for
God these servants cloak themselves, just like
Mutanabbi says of beautiful women:
Figured silks they wore, not to beautify
But to guard their beauty from lustful eyes.
18 |||
The Amir said: “Night and day my heart and Soul
are intent upon serving God, but because of my
responsibilities with Mongol affairs I have no
time for such service.”
Rumi answered: Those works too are work
done for God, since they are the means of providing
peace and security for your country. You
sacrifice yourself, your possessions, your time, so
the hearts of a few will be lifted to peacefully
obeying God’s will. So this too is a good work.
God has inclined you towards such good work,
and your great love for what you do is proof of
God’s blessing. However, if your love of work
were to weaken, this would be a sign of grace
denied, for God leads only those who are worthy
into those right attitudes that will earn spiritual
rewards.
Take the case of a hot bath. Its heat comes
from the fuel that is burned, such as dry hay,
firewood, dung and the like. In the same way,
God uses what to outward appearance looks evil
discourse 3
and nasty, yet in reality is the means to cleanliness
and purity. Like the bath, the man or woman fired
by the efforts of work becomes purified and a
benefit to all people.
(At this point some friends arrived. Rumi
excused himself and said:) If I do not attend to
you, and do not welcome you or ask after you,
this is really a mark of respect. Respect is what is
appropriate for the occasion. When someone is at
prayer, they should not stop to greet their father
and brother. Disregard of friends while being
engaged in prayer is the highest regard, and the
greatest courtesy, since that person does not break
away from absorption with God on account of
dear ones. This saves those loved ones from being
subject to Divine reproach. Therefore, true
respect is not a social pleasantry, but is concern
for the spiritual honor of others.
Someone asked: “Is there any way nearer to
God than prayer?”
Rumi answered: Yes, but it is also prayer. It is
prayer without the outward form. This outer
form of prayer is the body of prayer, since it has a
beginning and ending. Everything that has a
20 V DISCOURSES OF RUMI
FIHI MA FIHI V 21
beginning and ending is a body. All words and
sounds have a beginning and an end, and therefore
are form and body. But the inner soul of
prayer is unconditioned and infinite, and has neither
beginning nor end.
Now, Mohammed, who invented the Muslim
prayer, said, “I have a time with God not contained
by any prophet, nor limited by any angel
next to God.” Hence we realize that the soul of
prayer is not the outer form alone. Rather it is a
complete absorption, a state without room for
these outward forms. Gabriel himself, who is pure
reality, cannot be found therein.
It is related that one day friends found my
father in a state of complete absorption. The hour
of prayer arrived, and these friends called out to
my father, “It is time for prayer.” My father did
not heed their words, so they arose and occupied
themselves with the prayer. However, two friends
stayed with my father and did not stand up to
pray.
Now, one of those who were praying was
named Khvajagi. It was shown to him clearly, in
his inward heart, that all those who were at
prayer were standing behind the Prophet with
their backs turned to Mecca, while the two who
were with my father were facing Mecca. Since my
father had passed away from any sense of personal
identity, his self no longer remaining, having
been consumed in the Light of God, he had
become the Light of God.
Whoever turns their back on the Light of God,
and faces the wall of their prayer-niche, has surely
turned their back on Mecca. For God’s light is
the soul of the Mecca-ward direction.
Mohammed once rebuked a friend, saying, “I
called you. Why didn’t you come?” The friend
replied, “I was occupied with prayer.” The
Prophet said, “Well, wasn’t I calling you for
God?” The friend answered, “I am helpless.”
It is good to feel helpless every moment, seeing
yourself helpless in success, just as in failure. For
above your capacity there is a greater Capacity,
and your will is subject to that greater Will in
every case. You are not divided into two halves,
now capable, now helpless. You are always helpless,
only sometimes remembering, sometimes for-
22 V DISCOURSES OF RUMI
FIHI MA FIHI V 23
getting. When you remember, then the heart of
that moment becomes visible, and the way opens
up before you. Indeed, what is our condition, seeing
that lions, tigers and crocodiles are all helpless
and tremble before God? Even the heavens and
earth are helpless and subject to His decree.
God is a mighty emperor. Its Light is not like
the light of the moon or sun where some form
abides in its place. When God’s Light shines forth
unveiled, neither heaven nor earth remain.
Neither sun nor moon. Nothing remains but that
great Reality.
A certain king said to a dervish, “In the
moment when you find revelation and propinquity
in the Court of God, remember me.” The
dervish replied, “When I come into that Presence,
and the Light of that Sun shines upon me, I will
no more remember myself. How then can I
remember you?”
Even still, make a request of such a dervish,
who is utterly absorbed, and even without them
mentioning you or your needs in God’s presence
still the request is fulfilled.
There was once a king who had a favorite and
highly confidential servant. Whenever that servant
set out for the royal palace, people who had
a request to make presented him with their histories
and their letters, begging him to submit them
to the king. He would place the documents in his
wallet. On coming into the king’s presence, he
could not endure the splendor of the king’s beauty,
and would fall down dumfounded. The king
would then, in a loving manner, put his hand into
his wallet, saying, “What does this servant of
mine have here, who is utterly absorbed in my
beauty?”
In this way he found the letters and would
endorse the petitions of every man and woman,
and then return the documents into the wallet. So
he would attend to the needs of every one of
them, without that servant ever submitting them,
so that not a single one was rejected. On the contrary,
their demands were granted many times
over, and they attained far more than they had
asked for. But in the case of other servants who
retained consciousness, and were able to present
and indicate to the king the histories of the people
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FIHI MA FIHI V 25
in need—out of a hundred requests and a hundred
needs, only one might be fulfilled.
Someone said: “There is something I have forgotten.”
Rumi replied: There is one thing in this world
that must never be forgotten. If you were to forget
all else, but did not forget that, then you
would have no reason to worry. But if you performed
and remembered everything else, yet forgot
that one thing, then you would have done
nothing whatsoever.
It is just as if a king sent you to the country to
carry out a specific task. If you go and accomplish
a hundred other tasks, but do not perform that
particular task, then it is as though you performed
nothing at all. So, everyone comes into this world
for a particular task, and that is their purpose. If
they do not perform it, then they will have done
nothing.
All things are assigned a task. The heavens
send rain and light for the herbs of the field to germinate
and spring into life. The earth receives the
discourse 4
FIHI MA FIHI V 27
seeds and bears fruit, it accepts and reveals a hundred
thousand marvels too numerous to tell. The
mountains give forth mines of gold and silver. All
these things the heavens, the earth and the mountains
do, yet they do not perform that one thing;
that particular task is performed by us.
“We offered the Trust to the heavens,
The earth and the mountains,
They refused to carry it and were afraid of it,
But humans carried it.
Surely they are foolish and sinful.”
So, people are given a task, and when they perform
it all their sinfulness and foolishness is dissolved.
You say, “Look at all the work I do accomplish,
even if I do not perform that task.” You
weren’t created for those other tasks! It is just as
if you were given a sword of priceless Indian steel,
such as can only be found in the treasuries of
kings, and you were to treat it as a butcher’s knife
for cutting up putrid meat, saying, “I am not letting
this sword stand idle, I am using it in so many
useful ways.” Or it is like taking a solid gold bowl
to cook turnips in, when a single grain of that
gold could buy a hundred pots. Or it is as if you
took a Damascene dagger of the finest temper to
hang a broken gourd from, saying, “I am making
good use of it. I am hanging a gourd on it. I am
not letting this dagger go to waste.” How foolish
that would be! The gourd can hang perfectly well
from a wooden or iron nail whose value is a mere
farthing, so why use a dagger valued at a hundred
pounds?
A poet once said:
You are more precious than heaven and earth.
What more can I say?
You do not know your own worth.
God says, “I will buy you...your moments,
your breaths, your possessions, your lives. Spend
them on Me. Turn them over to Me, and their
price is divine freedom, grace and wisdom. This is
your worth in My eyes.” But if we keep our life
for ourself, then we lose what treasures we have
been granted. Like the person who hammered the
dagger, worth a hundred pounds into the wall to
hang a gourd upon, their great fortune was
reduced to a nail.
Still you offer another excuse, saying, “But I
apply myself to lofty tasks. I study law, philosophy,
logic, astronomy, medicine and the rest.”
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FIHI MA FIHI V 29
Well, for whose sake but your own do you study
these? If it is law, it is so nobody can steal a loaf
from you, strip you of your clothes, or kill you—
in short, it is for your own security. If it is astronomy,
the phases of the spheres and their influence
upon the earth, whether they are light or heavy,
portending tranquility or danger, all these things
are concerned with your own situation, serving
your own ends. If it is medicine, it is related to
your own health and also serves you. When you
consider this matter well, the root of all your
studies is yourself. All these lofty tasks are but
branches of you.
If these subjects are filled with so many marvels
and worlds of knowledge without end, consider
what worlds you pass through who are the root!
If your branches have their laws, their medicines,
their histories, think of what transpires within
you who are the source; what spiritual laws and
medicines affect your inward future and fate,
what histories portray your struggles of the heart!
For Soul there is other food besides this food of
sleeping and eating, but you have forgotten that
other food. Night and day you nourish only your
body. Now, this body is like a horse, and this
lower world is its stable. The food the horse eats
is not the food of the rider. You are the rider and
have your own sleeping and eating, your own
enjoyment. But since the animal has the upper
hand, you lag behind in the horse’s stable. You
cannot be found among the ranks of kings and
princes in the eternal world. Your heart is there,
but since your body has the upper hand, you are
subject to its rule and remain its prisoner.
When Majnun, as the story goes, was making
for his beloved Laila’s home, as long as he was
fully conscious he drove his camel in that direction.
But when for a moment he became absorbed
in the thought of Laila and forgot his camel, the
camel turned in its tracks toward the village
where its foal was kept. On coming to his senses,
Majnun found that he had gone back a distance
of two day’s journey. For three months he continued
this way, coming no closer to his goal. Finally
he jumped off the camel, saying, “This camel is
the ruin of me!” and continued on foot, singing:
My camel’s desire is now behind,
My own desire is before.
Our purposes were crossed,
We can agree no more.
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FIHI MA FIHI V 31
Burhan al-Din was once greeted by someone,
who said, “I have heard praises of you sung by
friends.” Burhan al-Din answered, “Wait until I
meet your friends to see whether they know me
well enough to praise me. If they know me only
by word of mouth, then they do not truly know
me. For words do not endure. Syllables and
sounds do not endure. This body, these lips and
this mouth will not endure. All these things are
mere accidents of the moment. But if they know
me by my works, and they know my essential self,
then I know they are able to praise me, and that
praise will go where it belongs.”
This is like the story they tell of a certain king.
This king entrusted his son to a team of learned
scholars. In due course, they taught him the sciences
of astrology, geomancy, and the interpretation
of signs, until he became a complete master,
despite his utter stupidity and dullness of wit.
One day the king took a ring in his fist and put
his son to the test.
“Come, tell me what I am holding in my fist.”
“What you are holding is round, yellow,
inscribed and hollow,” the prince answered.
“You have given all the signs correctly,” the
king said. “Now say what it is.”
“It must be a sieve.” the prince replied.
“What?” cried the king. “You know all the
minute details, which would baffle the minds of
anyone. How is it that out of all your powerful
learning and knowledge, the small point has
escaped you that a sieve will not fit in a fist?”
In this same way, the great scholars of the age
split hairs on details of all matters. They know
perfectly and completely those sciences that do
not concern Soul. But as for what is truly of
importance and touches us more closely than anything
else, namely our own Self, this your great
scholars do not know. They make statements
about everything, saying, “This is true and that is
not true. This is right and that is wrong.” Yet,
they do not know their own Self, whether it is
true or false, pure or impure.
Now being hollow and yellow, inscribed and
circular, these features are accidental; cast the ring
into the fire and none of them will remain. It
becomes its essential self, purified of all appearances.
So it is with the knowledge of scholars;
32 V DISCOURSES OF RUMI
FIHI MA FIHI V 33
what they know has no connection with the
essential reality that alone exists when all these
“signs” are gone. They speak wisely, expound at
great length, and finally pronounce that what the
king has in his hand is a sieve. They have no
knowledge about the root of the matter: life’s purpose.
I am a bird. I am a nightingale. If they say to
me, “Make some other kind of sound,” I cannot.
My tongue is what it is. I cannot speak otherwise.
However, those who learn the song of birds are
not birds themselves—on the contrary, they are
the enemies of birds and their captors. They sing
and whistle so others will take them for birds.
Ask them to produce a different sound and they
can do so, because that sound is merely assumed
by them. It is not truly their own. Like the scholars,
they are able to sing other songs because they
have learned to rob those songs, and to show off
a different tune stolen from every breast.
The Amir, surprised by an unexpected visit from
Rumi, said: “Master, how gracious of you to
honor me in this way. I never expected this. It
never even entered my mind that I could be worthy
of such an honor. By rights I should be standing
night and day in the ranks and company of
your servants and attendants. I’m not even worthy
of that. How gracious this is!”
Rumi said: It is all because of your lofty spiritual
aspirations. The higher and greater your rank
and the more you become occupied with important,
exalted worldly affairs, the more you consider
yourself to have fallen short of your spiritual
purpose. You are not satisfied with what you
have achieved, thinking that you have too many
obligations. Since none of these attainments can
blind you from that divine attainment, my heart is
moved to serving you. And yet for all that, still, I
wanted to pay you formal honor as well.
Form too possesses great importance. No,
much more than importance—it is of true subdiscourse
5
FIHI MA FIHI V 35
stance. Just as the body will fail if it lacks a heart,
so too it fails without a skin. If you plant a seed
with no husk, it cannot grow, but if you bury it in
the earth with its shell, then it germinates and
becomes a great tree. So, form is a great and necessary
principle, and without it our task fails and
our purpose is not attained. Yes, this principle is
reality in the eyes of those who know reality and
have become reality!
A dervish once entered the presence of a king.
The king addressed him, “Oh, ascetic.”
“You are the ascetic,” the dervish answered.
“How can I be an ascetic,” the king demanded,
“since the whole world belongs to me?”
“Ah, you see things the opposite of what they
are,” replied the dervish. “This world and the
next and all that there is to possess, these all
belong to me. I have seized the whole world. It is
you who have become satisfied with a mouthful
and a rag.”
Wherever you turn, there is the Face of God.
This Face runs and extends infinitely and forever.
True spiritual lovers have sacrificed themselves for
the sake of that Face, desiring nothing in return.
The rest of the human race are like cattle.
Yet, even though they are cattle, still they
deserve favor. They may live in the stable, yet they
are accepted by the Lord of the stable. If He so
desires, He transfers them from this stable into
His private pen. So, in the beginning God brought
men and women into existence, and then transferred
them from the pen of spiritual existence
into the world inanimate. Then from the pen of
the world inanimate into the vegetable world.
Then from vegetable into animal. From animal to
human, human to angel, and so on forever. He
manifested all these forms so that you would
know His pens are many, and that each one is
loftier than the next.
God revealed this present world so that you
could accept the other stages that lie ahead. He
did not reveal it so that you would say, “This is all
there is.” The masters of crafts demonstrate their
abilities and arts so their apprentices will find
faith in them, and will believe in the other arts
they have not yet demonstrated. A king bestows
robes of honor and lavishes kindness on his subjects
because they look forward to receiving other
gifts from him, and hang hopefully upon future
36 V DISCOURSES OF RUMI
FIHI MA FIHI V 37
purses of gold. He does not grant these things for
them to say, “This is all there is. The king will not
give out any other blessings,” and so make do
with that amount. If the king knows any subjects
are going to say that, and take such gifts for
granted, he will never bestow any blessings whatsoever
upon them.
The ascetic is one who sees the hereafter, while
the worldling sees only the stable. But the chosen
ones of God, who have true knowledge, see neither
the hereafter nor the stable. Their eyes are
fixed on the first principle, the source of all things.
When the chosen one sows wheat they know that
wheat will grow, because they see the end from
the beginning. So it is with barley and rice and all
things—seeing the beginning, their eyes are not
fixed on the end. They know the conclusion from
the start. Such men and women are rare.
It is pain that guides us in every enterprise.
Until there is an ache within, a passion and a
yearning for that thing arising within us, we will
never strive to attain it. Without pain it remains
beyond our reach, whether it is success in this
world or salvation in the next, whether we aim at
becoming a merchant or a king, a scientist or an
astronomer. It was not until the pains of birth
manifested in Mary that she made for the tree.
Those pangs drove her to the tree, and the tree
that was withered became fruitful.
We are like that story of Mary in the Koran.
Every one of us has a Jesus within, but until the
pangs manifest, our Jesus is not born. If the pangs
never come, then our child rejoins its origin by the
same secret path through which it came, leaving
us empty, without the birth of our true self.
Your inward soul is hungry.
Your outward flesh is over fed.
The devil has gorged to sickness.
The king begs even for bread.
The cure is found while Jesus is here on earth!
But once he returns to heaven,
all hope will have fled.
38 V DISCOURSES OF RUMI
Rumi said: These words are for the sake of those
who need words to understand. But as for those
who understand without words, what use have
they for speech? The heavens and earth are words
to them, sent forth themselves from the Word of
God. Whoever hears a whisper, what need have
they for shouting and screaming?
An Arabic speaking poet once came into the
presence of a king. Now the king was a Turk, and
did not even know Persian. The poet had composed
in his honor some brilliant verses in Arabic,
and had brought these with him. When the king
had taken his seat on the throne and the courtiers
were all present and duly stationed, commanders
and ministers each in their place, the poet rose to
his feet and began to recite his poem. At every
passage deserving applause the king nodded his
head, while at every passage provoking astonishment
he looked amazed. Similarly, he responded
to every passage expressing submission. The
courtiers were astounded.
discourse 6
“Our king did not know a word of Arabic,”
they murmured amongst themselves. “How is it
that he nodded his head so correctly? He must
have known Arabic all these years and kept it hidden
from us. If we have ever uttered incivilities in
Arabic, then woe is us!”
Now the king had a favorite slave. So the
courtiers assembled together and gave the slave a
horse, a mule, and a sum of money, and they
promised to give him this much again. “Just find
out whether or not the king knows Arabic,” they
said to him. “If he does not, how was it that he
nodded just at the right places? Was it a miracle?
Was it divine inspiration?”
Finally one day the slave found his opportunity.
The king was out hunting, and the slave perceived
that he was in a good mood, since the hunt
had gone well. So he asked the king point blank.
The king burst out laughing.
“By God, I don’t know Arabic,” he said. “As
for nodding and applauding, I knew of course
what the poet’s object was in composing that
poem, and so I nodded and applauded.”
So it was realized that the root of the matter
was the purpose desired; the poem itself was
40 V DISCOURSES OF RUMI
FIHI MA FIHI V 41
merely the branch of that purpose. If it had not
been for that purpose, the poet would never have
composed that poem.
If our real purpose is kept in view, duality vanishes.
Duality shows the branches, but the root is
one. It is the same with Sufi sheikhs. Although to
outward appearance they have various styles of
teaching and differ widely in their social standing,
even in their action and words, yet from the
standpoint of their purpose they all have one goal,
namely the quest for God.
Take the case of the wind. When it blows
through a house it lifts the edges of the carpet,
and the rugs flap and move about. It whisks sticks
and straws into the air, ruffles the surface of the
pool until it looks like a coat of mail, sets trees
and twigs and leaves a-dancing. All those conditions
appear distinct and different, yet from the
standpoint of the object, the root and reality, they
are one thing—the movement of the wind.
Someone said: “I have neglected that true purpose.”
Rumi replied: When this thought enters a person’s
mind and they criticize themself, saying,
“What am I about, and why do I do these
things?” When this happens, it is a sure proof that
God loves them and cares for them. “Love continues
so long as reprimands continue,” said the
poet. We may reprimand our friends, but we
never reprimand a stranger.
Now there are levels of reprimand. When a
person is stung by it and sees the truth in it, that
is a sign that God loves them and cares for them.
But if the reprimand flies by that person without
causing any pain at all, then this is no sign of love.
When a carpet is beaten to get rid of the dust,
intelligent people do not call that a reprimand.
But if a woman beats her own darling child, then
that is called a reprimand and is a proof of her
love. Therefore, as long as you find pain and
regret within yourself, that is a proof of God’s
love and guidance.
If you find fault in your brother or sister, the
fault you see in them is within yourself. The true
Sufi is like a mirror where you see your own
image, for “The believer is a mirror of their fellow
believers.” Get rid of those faults in yourself,
because what bothers you in them bothers you in
yourself.
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An elephant was led to a well to drink. Seeing
itself in the water, it shied away. It thought it was
shying away from another elephant. It did not
realize it was shying away from its own self.
All evil qualities—oppression, hatred, envy,
greed, mercilessness, pride—when they are within
yourself, they bring no pain. When you see them
in another, then you shy away and feel the pain.
We feel no disgust at our own scab and abscess.
We will dip our infected hand into our food and
lick our fingers without turning in the least bit
squeamish. But if we see a tiny abscess or half a
scratch on another’s hand, we shy away from that
person’s food and have no stomach for it whatsoever.
Evil qualities are just like scabs and abscesses;
when they are within us they cause no pain,
but when we see them even to a small degree in
another, then we feel pain and disgust.
Just as you shy away from your brother or sister,
so you should excuse them for shying away
from you. The pain you feel comes from those
faults, and they see the same faults. The seeker of
truth is a mirror for their neighbors. But those
who cannot feel the sting of truth are not mirrors
to anyone but themselves.
A certain king was sitting, dejected, on the
bank of a river. The generals were nervous and
afraid of him. His face would not clear up no
matter what they tried. Now he had a jester
whom he treated as a great favorite. The generals
promised the jester a certain sum of money if he
could make the king laugh. So the jester
approached the king, but despite all his efforts the
king would not so much as look at him. The king
kept staring into the river and did not lift his head
at all.
“What do you see in the water?” the jester
asked the king.
“I see the husband of an unfaithful wife,” the
king replied.
“King of the world,” the jester said, “your
slave is also not blind.”
So it is in your own case. If you see something
in your fellow that pains you, after all they also
are not blind. They see exactly what you see.
In God’s presence two I’s cannot exist. You
cannot know your self and God’s Self; either die
before God, or God will die before you so that
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duality will not remain. But as for God’s dying,
that is both impossible and inconceivable, for
God is the Living, the Immortal. So gracious is He
that if it were at all possible He would die for
your sake. Since that is not possible, then you
must die so that God can reveal Itself to you, and
duality can vanish.
Tie two birds together, and despite their familiarity
and the fact that their two wings have been
changed to four, they will not fly. That is because
duality exists. But let one bird give up its life and
the other—even though tied to the first—will fly,
because duality has vanished.
Shams-i-Tabriz was a servant of God who had
the power to sacrifice himself for the sake of a
friend. He prayed to God for that friend, but God
did not accept his petition. “I do not want you to
help him,” came a voice. Shams, that son of the
Sun [Shams-i-Tabriz means literally Sun of
Tabriz,] persisted and would not cease his
requests, saying, “O God, you have implanted
this desire for him, and it will not leave me.”
Finally a voice came saying, “Do you desire that
this should come to pass? Then sacrifice your self,
and become nothing. Do not wait, and leave this
world behind.” “Lord,” Shams answered, “I am
content.” So he did; he gambled away his life for
the sake of that Friend, and his desire was accomplished.
[The friend in this story is Rumi himself.
Shams was chased away by jealous followers of
Rumi, but Rumi sent for Shams and Shams eventually
returned. It is said that those jealous followers,
including one of Rumi’s own sons, later
murdered Shams. Rumi’s search for the missing
Shams, only to find the One he sought for within
himself, is the source of many of Rumi’s poems.]
If a servant of God can possess such grace as to
sacrifice his life, of which one day’s portion is
worth the life of all the world from first to last,
does not the Source of that grace also possess this
love? It would be absurd to think otherwise. But
since it is not possible for God to pass away, at
least you can.
A fool came and sat in a seat above one of the
great saints. What difference does it make to the
saints whether such a person is above or below
the lamp? If the lamp wants to be on high, it does
not desire that for its own sake. Its purpose is for
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the benefit of others, so they can enjoy their share
of the light. Wherever the lamp may be, whether
below or above, it is still the lamp of the Eternal
Sun. If the saint seeks worldly rank and office, it
is for this purpose: They desire to snare those
worldlings, who do not have the vision to see
their true elevation, with a trap of worldly rank.
Through this they may find their way to the higher
worlds, and fall into the trap of divine grace.
In this same way, the Prophet, Mohammed did
not conquer Mecca and the surrounding lands
because he was in need of them. He conquered in
order to give life and grant light to all people.
“This is a hand accustomed to give, it is not
accustomed to take.” The saints beguile people in
order to bestow gifts on them, not to take anything
away.
When someone lays a trap and catches little
birds to eat and sell, that is called cunning. But if
a king lays a trap to capture an untutored and
worthless hawk, having no knowledge of its own
true nature, to train it to his own forearm so that
it may become ennobled, that is not called cunning.
Though to outward appearance it is cunning,
yet it is known to be the very acme of caring
and generosity, restoring the dead to life, converting
the base stone into a ruby, and far more
than that. If the hawk knew for what reason the
king wanted to capture it, it would not require
any bait. It would search for the trap with soul
and heart, and would fly to the king’s hand.
People only listen to the outward significance
of the saints’ words. They say, “We’ve heard plenty
of this. Our hearts are stuffed full of words of
this kind.” God says, “God forbid that you
should be full of them! You are full of your own
whisperings and vain conceits. You are full of illusion
and greed. Nay, you are full of cursing.”
If only they were empty of such ravings! Then
they would be open to receive these words. But
they are not open to receive them. God has set a
seal upon their ears and eyes and hearts. Their
eyes see things the opposite of what they are; they
hear wisdom as gibberish and raving. Their hearts
have been transformed into a home of self-love
and vanity. A winter’s tangle of dark shapes and
pride has possessed them. Their hearts are hardened
with ice and frost.
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“God has set a seal on their hearts
And their hearing,
And on their eyes is a covering.”
How likely is it that such people could be full
of these true words? They have never caught so
much as a whiff of them. They have never tasted
a drop in all their lives—neither they nor those
they worship, nor their miserable household. God
shows a pitcher to everyone. To some It shows the
pitcher full of water, and they drink until they are
sated. But to some God shows it empty. What
thanks can someone give for an empty pitcher?
Only those, whom God shows the pitcher full,
find thanks for this gift.
The son of the Amir entered.Rumi said: Your
father is always occupied with God. His faith is
overwhelming, and reveals itself in his words.
One day your father said, “The people of Rum
have urged me to give my daughter in marriage to
the Tartars, so that our religion may become one,
and this new religion of Muslimdom can disappear.”
I said, “When has religion ever been one?
There have always been two or three, and they
have always had war and fighting between them.
How do you expect to make religion one? It will
be one only in the next world, at the resurrection.
As for this present world, it isn’t possible here, for
here each religion has a different desire and
design. Here unity is impossible. It will be possible
only at the resurrection, when humanity
becomes one and all people fix their eyes on one
place, and all have one ear and one tongue.”
Within us are many things. There is mouse in
us, and there is bird. The bird carries the cage
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upwards, while the mouse drags it down. A hundred
thousand different wild beasts are together
within us, but they are all converging on that
moment when the mouse will renounce its mousehood
and the bird its birdhood, and all become
one. For the goal is neither going up or down.
When the goal shows itself clearly, it will be neither
above nor below.
A woman lost something. She looks left and
right, in front and behind. Once she has found
that thing she no longer searches above and
below, left and right, in front or behind. All at
once she becomes calm and collected. Similarly,
on the resurrection day all people will be of one
eye, tongue, ear and understanding.
When ten friends share a garden or a shop in
common, they speak as one, they plan as one, and
their work is with one thing since their objective
is the same. So, on the resurrection day, since the
affair of all will be with God, they will all be one.
In this world everyone is preoccupied with a
separate affair. One is in love with women, one is
in love with wealth, another is engaged in acquiring
possessions, another in acquiring knowledge.
Everyone believes that their cure, their joy, their
pleasure and comfort can be found in that one
thing. And that is a Divine mercy, because when
they search they cannot find, and so they return.
After they have waited a while, they say again,
“That joy and pleasure must be looked for.
Perhaps I didn’t try hard enough. I will search
again.” Then they look again, but still they cannot
find their desire. So they continue, until that
time when Truth removes Its veil. Then they
know.
But God has certain servants who know even
before the resurrection. Ali [cousin and son-inlaw
of Mohammed] said, “Even if the veil was
removed, my faith would not increase.” That is to
say, “Even when the body is gone and the resurrection
appears, my certainty can become no
greater.” This is like a group of people at prayer
on a dark night; they turn their faces in every
direction, being unable to see. When day comes
they all turn themselves around, except for that
one individual who through the night was facing
towards Mecca. Why should that individual turn
around? So, those special servants of God keep
their faces towards the One even in the night, and
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have turned their faces away from all else.
Therefore, for them, the resurrection is already
manifest and present.
There is no end to words, but they are given
according to the capacity of the seeker.
Wisdom is like the rain. Its supply is unlimited,
but it comes down according to what the occasion
requires—in winter and spring, in summer and
autumn, always in due measure, more or less, but
the source of that rain is the oceans itself, which
has no limits. Druggists put sugar or drugs in a
twist of paper, but sugar is not limited by the
amount in the paper. The stocks of sugar and the
stocks of drugs are unlimited and unbounded;
how can a piece of paper contain them?
Some people uttered taunts at Mohammed,
saying, “Why does the Koran come down upon
you word by word? Why not chapter by chapter?”
Mohammed answered, “What do these
fools say? If it were to come down upon me all at
once, I would dissolve and vanish away.”
Those who truly understand a little, understand
much; of one thing, many things; of one
line, whole volumes. It is like when a group is
seated listening to a story, but one woman knows
all the circumstances, having been there when it
occurred. From the first hint she understands it
all. She turns pale, then crimson, changing from
one feeling to another. The others understand
only as much as they hear, since they do not know
what really happened. But the one who knows
understands the whole story from even a few
words.
To return: When you come to the druggist,
they have sugar in abundance. But they see how
much money you brought, and give accordingly.
By “money” is meant sincerity and faith. The
words are imparted according to one’s sincerity
and faith. When you come seeking sugar, they
examine your bag to see what its capacity is, then
they measure out accordingly, one bushel or two.
But if someone brings a string of camels, they call
the weighmen to be help.
So, someone comes along whom oceans do not
satisfy; another finds a few drops enough and any
more would be harmful.
This applies not only to the world of ideas, sciences
and wisdom. It is true of everything.
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Property, wealth, gold, all are unbounded and
infinite, but they are imparted according to the
capacity of the individual. Who could support an
endless supply without being driven mad? Do you
not see how Majnun and Farhad, and the other
famous lovers, took to the mountain and desert
for the love of a woman, when they were filled
with a passion beyond their power to control? Do
you not see how Pharaoh, when empire and
wealth were showered upon him without end,
laid claim to being a god?
Yes, indeed these people have faith, but they do
not know what that faith is in. In the same way a
child has faith it will have bread to eat, but they
don’t know where this bread comes from. It is the
same with all things that grow. A tree turns yellow
and dry of thirst, but it doesn’t know what
thirst really is.
Our faith is like a flag. First we set the flag
fluttering in the air to proclaim our belief, and
then send troops to the foot of that flag from
every direction to support and defend it. We send
reason, understanding, fury and anger, forbearance
and liberality, fear and hope, on and on
without end. Whoever looks from afar sees only
the flag, but those who see from close at hand
know the essences and realities that reside within
us.
Someone came in and Rumi said: Where have
you been? We have been longing to see you. Why
have you stayed away?
The visitor replied, “It was just how things
conspired.”
Rumi said: We, for our part, have been praying
that this conspiracy of things might come to an
end. A conspiracy of things that produces separation
is an improper conspiracy. Yes, by God, it too
comes from God, and in relation to God is good.
It is a true saying, that all things are good and perfect
in relation to God, but in relation to us, how
can this be true? Fornication and purity, avoiding
prayer and praying, unbelief and Islam, idolatry
and God’s unity—with God all these are good.
But to us, fornication and thieving, unbelief and
idolatry are bad, while God’s unity and prayer are
good. Even though in relation to God all are
good.
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A king has in his realm prisons and gallows,
robes of honor and wealth, estates and attendants
in waiting, feasting and celebration, drums and
flags. In relation to the king all these things are
good. Just as robes of honor are the perfect flourish
for his kingdom, in the same way gallows and
prisons are perfect ornaments. In relation to him
all these things are perfect, but in relation to his
people how could robes of honor and the gallows
be one and the same?
Someone asked: “What is greater than prayer?”
Rumi said: One answer is that the soul of
prayer is greater than prayer, as I have already
explained. A second answer is that faith is greater.
Prayer is a series of daily actions, while faith is
continuous. Prayer can be dropped for a valid reason,
or can be postponed, but it is impossible to
drop or postpone faith for any excuse. And where
prayer without faith gains nothing, as in the case
of hypocrites, faith without prayer is valuable.
Another point: while the prayer of every religion
is each quite different, still, faith does not change
from religion to religion. The states that it produces,
its place in life, and its effects are the same
everywhere.
There are other advantages to faith, but their
discovery depends upon the inward awareness of
the listener. Each listener is like flour in the hands
of a dough-maker. Words are like water sprinkled
on the flour according to the moisture needed. But
unless the water soaks in, it cannot make dough.
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A poet said:
My eye is fixed upon another, what shall I do?
Look to yourself, for that eye’s light is you.
“My eye is fixed upon another.” That means
you are seeking something apart from yourself,
like the dryness of the flour that longs for water
from the dough-maker’s hand. “What can I do?”
Know that you seek only yourself, that longing is
for you. The light you seek is your own light
reflected, but you will not escape this blinding
glare of the outward lights until your own Inner
Light becomes a hundred thousand times greater.
There was once a skinny person, feeble as a
sparrow, and exceedingly ugly. He was so ugly
that even other ugly people looked on him with
contempt and gave thanks to God, though before
seeing him they used to complain of their own
ugliness. Yet, for all that, he was very rude in his
way of speaking and bragged enormously. He was
in the court of the king, and his behavior pained
the vizier, but the vizier swallowed it down. Then
one day the vizier lost his temper.
“People of the court,” he shouted. “I picked
this creature out of the gutter and nourished him.
By eating my bread and sitting at my table, by
enjoying my charity and my wealth, and that of
my ancestors, he became somebody. Now he has
reached the point of saying such things to me!”
“People of the court,” cried the man, springing
up in the vizier’s face, “and nobles and pillars of
the state! What he says is quite true. I was nourished
by his wealth and charity and that of his
ancestors until I grew up, contemptible and crude
as you see me. If I had been nourished by someone
else’s bread and wealth, surely my appearance,
my manners and my worth would have been
better than this. He picked me out of the gutter;
but all I can say is; Oh, I wish that I were dust. If
someone else had picked me out of the gutter, I
would not have been such a laughing stock.”
The disciple, who is fed at the table of a lover
of God, has a clean and true spirit. But those who
are nourished by the hands of an imposter and a
braggart, learning the science from them, become
just like their teacher, contemptible and feeble,
weak and unable to make up their minds about
anything.
Within our being all sciences were originally
joined as one, so that our spirit displayed all hid-
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den things, like clear water shows everything
within it—pebbles, broken shards and the like—
and reflects the sky above from its surface like a
mirror. This is Soul’s true nature, without treatment
or training. But once Soul has mingled with
the earth and its earthly elements, this clarity
leaves it and is forgotten. So God sends forth the
prophets and saints, like a great translucent ocean
that accepts all waters, and yet no matter how
dark or dirty are the rivers that pour into it, that
ocean remains pure. Then Soul remembers. When
it sees its reflection in that unsullied water, it
knows for sure that in the beginning it too was
pure, and these shadows and colors are mere accidents.
The prophets and the saints, therefore, remind
us of our original state; they do not implant anything
new. Now, every water, no matter how
dark, that recognizes that great water, saying, “I
come from this and I belong to this,” is truly a
part of that ocean. But the dark elements that do
not recognize that ocean and believe they are kin
to another kind, they make their home with the
colors and shadows of the earth.
It was for this reason that the Prophet said,
“Now there comes to you a Messenger from
amongst yourselves.” In other words, the great
ocean is that same substance as your own water,
it is all from one self and one source. But for those
elements that do not feel the attraction of familiarity,
this failure does not come from the water
itself, but from the pollution in that water. This
pollution is mixed in so closely that the water
does not know whether its own shying away from
the ocean comes from itself, or from the essence
of that pollution. And so, evil men do not know
whether their attraction toward evil springs from
their own nature, or from some dark element
mingled in.
Every line of poetry the saints and prophets
bring forth, every tradition, every verse they
write, is like a witness bearing testimony. They
bear witness to every situation according to the
nature of the situation. In the same way we have
two witnesses at the inheritance of a house, two
witnesses at the sale of a shop, two witnesses at a
marriage. So too, the saints bear witness. The
inner form of their testimony is always the same;
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it is the outer meaning that differs. I pray that
God may cause these words to bear witness to
God and you alike.
Someone said: “A man came who wanted to see
you. He kept saying, ‘I wish I could have seen the
Master.”
Rumi said: He does not see the Master at this
moment because in truth the desire that filled him,
namely to see the Master, was a veil hiding the
Master. So it is with all desires and affections, all
loves and fondnesses that people have for every
variety of thing—father, mother, heaven, earth,
gardens, palaces, knowledge, things to eat and
drink. The lover of God realizes all these desires
are truly the desire for God, and they are all veils
covering humanity’s eyes. When we pass into the
next world and behold Reality without these
veils, then we realize all those were veils and coverings,
and that our true quest in reality is for one
thing. All difficulties are then resolved, we hear in
our hearts the answer to all questions, and everything
is seen clearly face to face.
It is not God’s way to answer every problem
separately, but with one answer all questions are
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satisfied. All at once the total struggle is resolved.
In the same way, in winter everyone puts on warm
clothes and a leather jacket, and then creeps for
shelter from the cold. So too all plants, trees, and
shrubs, bitten by the cold, remain without leaves
and fruit, storing and hiding their goods and
nourishment inwardly so that the grasp of winter
will not reach them. When spring, in a single
epiphany, answers their requests, then all their
various problems, whether human, animal or
plant, are resolved, and those secondary symptoms
disappear. Then all put forth their heads,
and realize the cause of their misery.
God has created these veils for a good purpose.
For if God’s beauty were displayed without a veil,
we would not have the power to endure it.
Through the intermediary of these veils we derive
life and enjoyment.
Look at the sun. Through its light we can distinguish
good from bad, and find warmth. Trees
and orchards become fruitful from its heat, and
their fruits—unripe, sour and bitter, become
mature and sweet. Through its influence, mines of
gold and silver, rubies and carnelians are produced.
But if the sun were to come nearer it
would bring no benefit whatsoever. On the contrary,
the whole world and every creature would
be burned up and destroyed.
When God reveals Itself through a veil to the
mountain, those slopes become fully arrayed in
trees and flowers and verdure. However, when
God brings revelation without a veil, It destroys
the mountain and breaks it into atoms.
Someone asked: “Well, isn’t this the same sun
in the winter?”
Rumi answered: Our purpose here was to
draw a comparison. It is not a matter of atoms, or
Adam. Similarity is one thing, comparison is
another. Although our mind cannot comprehend
that reality, yet how can mind abandon the effort?
If our reason gave up the struggle, it would no
longer be reason. Reason is that thing that perpetually,
night and day, is restless while thinking
and struggling, striving to comprehend, even
though God is unknowable and incomprehensible.
Reason is like a moth, and the Beloved is like a
candle. Whenever the moth dashes itself against
the candle, it is consumed and destroyed, but the
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moth is this way by nature. No matter how much
that consuming flame and agony may hurt, the
moth cannot fly from the candle. If there were
another creature like the moth that could not fly
away from the light of the candle, and dashed
itself against that light, that would not be a mere
comparison, that would be a moth itself. But if
the moth dashed itself against the light of the candle
and the moth were not consumed, that indeed
could not be a candle.
Therefore, the human being who can do without
God, lacking even the desire, that is no
human being at all. But if they are able to comprehend
God, that indeed could not be God. So,
the true lover is never free from striving, they
revolve restlessly and ceaselessly around the light
of God. And God consumes them, making them
nothing, destroying the veil of their reason.
The Amir said to Rumi: “Before you arrived just
now, your eldest son, Baha al-Din, excused himself
to me, saying, ‘My father said that he doesn’t
want to put you to any trouble when you come to
visit him. He says, “I am subject to various states
of consciousness. In one state I speak, and in
another I do not. In one state I attend to the
affairs of others, and in another state I withdraw
and go into retreat, while in yet another state I am
utterly absorbed and beyond this world. I do not
wish the Amir to come when I’m in a state of
being that is disagreeable, when I am unable to
counsel and converse with him. Therefore, it is
better that when I am free and able to attend
to my friends and do them some good, that I
should go out and visit them.”’”
The Amir went on: “I answered Baha al-Din,
saying, ‘I do not come here so that our Master
should attend to me and converse with me. My
purpose in coming is to have the honor of being
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amongst the company of his servants.’ For example,
just now you were preoccupied and did not
show yourself until you had kept me waiting for
a long time. This was so I would realize how
difficult and disagreeable it is if I keep others
waiting when they come to my door and I do not
readily admit them. You have made me taste the
bitterness of that and have given me a lesson so
that I will not act like that with others.”
Rumi answered: That’s not true. On the contrary,
my keeping you waiting is an expression of
utmost loving-kindness. Just as God declares, “O
my child, I would answer your smallest petition
and slightest complaint without delay, if it weren’t
that the voice of your complaint is so sweet to my
ears. My answer lingers unspoken in hopes that
you might complain again and again, for the
sound of your voice is so sweet to me.”
For example, two beggars come to the door of
a certain person. One is highly loved and sought
after, while the other is disliked. The owner of the
house says to a slave, “Give that hated one a piece
of bread quickly and without delay, so he will
leave right away.” To the other beloved beggar
the owner makes promises, saying, “The bread is
not yet baked. Wait patiently until the bread is
properly cooked and baked.”
My greater desire is to see my friends, to gaze
my fill upon them and they on me. For when
friends see deeply into one another here, below,
and they are raised into the other world after
become very familiar here, they quickly recognize
one another there. Knowing how closely they
were together in the world of mortality, their
reuniting brings great joy.
For all too quickly we lose our friends. Do you
not see how in this mortal world you become the
friend and darling of some person, and they
become the very Joseph of beauty in your eyes.
Then, on account of a single shameful act they
vanish from your sight, and you lose them completely?
That Joseph-like form is changed into a
wolf. This very same one you once saw as Joseph
you now see as a wolf. Yet, their actual form has
not changed, but is still the same as it always was.
By that one accidental act you lost them.
Tomorrow, when this present essence is changed
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into another essence, since you never really knew
that person deeply, and never penetrated thoroughly
into their essence, how are you going to
recognize them?
The lesson to be learned from this is that we
must see one another very well indeed. We must
pass beyond the good and bad qualities that are
present temporarily in everyone, and must enter
into the other’s very essence. We must see with
exceptional clarity that these qualities people
observe in one another are not their original qualities.
The story is told of a man, who said, “I know
that fellow very well. I will give his distinguishing
mark.” His friends said, “Please do.” The man
answered, “He was a muleteer of mine. He had
two black cows.” People talk in this same way. “I
consider So-and-so my friend. I know them.” Yet
every distinguishing mark they give is just like the
two black cows. Those are not distinguishing
marks. Those marks are of no use whatever.
So, we must pass beyond the good and evil in
others and enter into their essence to see what
they really are. That is truly seeing and knowing.
It astonishes me how some people say, “How
do saints and lovers of God find love in the eternal
world beyond form, space and time? How can
they gain strength and help? How are they affected
by things without body or shape?”
Is not all life, night and day, engaged with these
very things? One person loves another person and
derives help through that love. They find care and
grace, kindness and knowledge, happiness and
sorrow. All these belong to that formless world.
Moment by moment they receive benefits from
these abstractions and are affected by them.
However, this doesn’t surprise the doubters. Yet
they are amazed that saints can find love in the
invisible worlds, and derive help without form.
Once there was a philosopher who denied this
reality. One day he became so sick he could not
leave his bed, and his illness dragged on a long
time. A certain theologian went to visit him.
“What are you seeking?” the theologian asked.
“Health,” said the philosopher.
“Tell me how this health is shaped, so that I
may find it for you.”
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“It has no shape,” said the philosopher. “It is
indescribable.”
“If it is indescribable, then how can you look
for it?” the theologian demanded.
“All I know,” answered the philosopher, “is
that when health arrives I grow in strength. I
become plump, fresh and alive.”
“From illness we learn of health,” said the theologian.
“From what is describable we learn of
what is indescribable. Now abandon your doubting
ways and I will return you to your vital self.”
Though spiritual truth is inscrutable, still we
all benefit from it through the embodiment of
form. Just as you see the changes brought by the
stars, moon and sun turning in the sky, the rain
from clouds in due season, summer and winter,
and all the transformations of time. You see all
these things happen, and know that it is right and
in accordance with wisdom. But how does that
distant cloud know it is necessary to rain at its
appointed time? Or how does this earth, when it
receives a seed, know to return it tenfold? Well,
Someone does this. Behold that Someone through
the embodiment of this world, and find nourishment.
Just as you use the body of another person
to contact their essence, use the embodiment of
this world to touch That reality.
When the Prophet was transported out of himself
and spoke, he used to say, “God says.” Now,
from the standpoint of embodiment, it was his
tongue that spoke; but he wasn’t there at all. That
speaker was greater than he was. Mohammed,
knowing himself to be ignorant and without
knowledge of such words, when he heard the wisdom
coming through his own lips, he realized that
he was no longer what he had been. Something
greater moved him. He reported stories about
past people and prophets who lived thousands of
years before, and he told what would come to
pass even to the end of the world. His being was
but a thing of years. A mortal being surely can’t
describe such things. How can a creature born in
time give information about the eternal? And so it
became known that it was not he who was speaking.
God was speaking.
God is wholly free of form and words. Its
speech is beyond letters and voice. Yet, It delivers
Its message by any letters and voice and tongue It
desires.
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People have carved the figures of men, women
and birds of stone along the banks of pools on the
highways and in the caravansaries, and through
the mouths of those statues water pours into the
pool. Anyone with any sense knows that this
water does not begin in the mouth of a stone bird,
it comes from some other source.
If you want to get to know people, engage
them in speech. By their words you will know
them. If they are imposters, even if someone told
them that people can be recognized by their
words and they watch their words carefully to
avoid being caught, still, in the end you will come
to understand who they are.
This is illustrated by the story of the child and
her mother. A child in the desert said to her mother,
“On dark nights a horrible demon appears to
me, and I am terribly afraid.”
“Don’t be afraid,” said her mother. “The next
time you see that form, attack it bravely. Then
you see clearly that it is nothing but a fantasy.”
“But mother,” said the child, “what if the horrible
demon’s mother has given him similar
advice? What shall I do if she has taught him, saying,
‘Don’t give in, so she will think you are real
and powerful. And don’t say a word, so that you
won’t be exposed?’ How shall I recognize him
then?”
“Keep silent, yield to his form as it is, and wait
with patience,” her mother answered. “Sooner or
later some word will leap from his mouth. Or if it
does not, from your own heart some words will
spring forth unconsciously, or into your mind
some thoughts or ideas will spring up, so that out
of those thoughts you will know him for what he
is. For this is how he has affected you. This is a
reflection of his true self and his real feelings that
have sprung up inside of you.”
Sheikh Sar-razi was seated one day amongst his
disciples. One of the disciples had a longing for
some roasted sheep’s head. The Sheikh called to
his servant, saying, “Bring him some roasted
sheep’s head.”
“How did you know that he wanted roasted
sheep’s head?” the disciples asked.
“Because it is now thirty years since such
desires have filled me,” the Sheikh answered. “I
have cleansed and purified myself of all desires
and have become clear as a polished mirror. When
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the thought of roasted sheep’s head entered my
mind, whetted my appetite and became a desire, I
knew it belonged to our friend. For a mirror
shows no image of itself. Any image it reflects is
the image of another.”
A worthy man once shut himself in a cave for
forty days discipline, seeking spiritual enlightenment.
A voice came to him, saying, “Such a lofty
goal will never be attained by forty days discipline.
Abandon your cave so the love of a great
saint may reach you and your goal can be realized.”
“Where shall I find that great one?” the man
asked.
“In the congregational mosque,” came the
answer.
“In such a throng of people, how shall I recognize
which one he is?” he inquired.
“Go,” said the voice, “he will recognize you
and will gaze upon you. The sign that his love has
fallen upon you will be when the pitcher drops
from your hand and you become unconscious.
Then you will know that his gaze has reached
you.”
The man acted accordingly. He filled a pitcher
with water and went around the congregation in
the mosque like a water-carrier. He was wandering
between the ranks of the worshippers when
suddenly he was seized with ecstasy. He uttered a
loud cry, and the pitcher fell from his hand. He
remained in a corner of the mosque unconscious.
All the people left. When he came to his senses he
saw that he was alone. He could not see the spiritual
king who had gazed upon him, but he had
gained his goal.
There are certain lovers of God, who, because
of their great majesty and jealousy for God, do
not show themselves openly, but they cause disciples
to attain important goals and bestow gifts
upon them. Such mighty spiritual saints are rare
and precious.
Someone said: “Do the great ones come before
you?”
Rumi answered: There is no “before” left to
me. It has been a long time since I have had any
“before.” If they come, they come before an
image they believe to be me. Some people said to
Jesus, “We will come to your house.” Jesus
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replied, “Where is my house in this world, and
how could I have a house?”
It is related that Jesus was wandering in the
desert when a great rainstorm broke. He went to
take shelter in the den of a jackal, in the corner of
its cave, until the rain ceased. A revelation came
to him, saying, “Get out of the jackal’s den, for
the jackal’s little ones cannot rest on account of
you.” He cried aloud, “Lord, the jackal’s pups
have a shelter, but the son of Mary has no place
to call home.”
Although the jackal’s whelp has a cave to live
in, still it has no Beloved to drive it out of its
home. But you do have such a One driving you
out. If you have no home, what does that matter?
The loving-kindness of such a Driver, and the
grace from such a robe of honor that singles you
out to be driven forth, is worth far more, exceeding
a hundred thousand heavens and worlds here
and beyond.
After the Amir left, Rumi said: The fact that
the Amir came and I didn’t show my face at once
should not worry him. His purpose in coming was
either to pay honor to me or to himself. If it was
to pay honor to me, then the longer he sat and
waited, the greater the honor he gained. If, on the
other hand, his object was to honor himself and
to seek a reward, then since he waited and
endured the pain of waiting his reward will be all
the greater. In either case his object in coming was
realized many times over, so he should feel thankful
and fortunate.
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Rumi said: The saying, “Hearts bear witness to
one another,” refers to a hidden reality. If all reality
were openly revealed, what need would there
be for words? Similarly, when the heart bears witness,
what need is there for the testimony of the
tongue?
The Amir said: “Certainly the heart bears witness.
But the heart plays one part by itself, the ear
another, the eye another, the tongue another.
There is need for each one, so that the whole can
be realized.”
Rumi said: If the heart is totally absorbed, then
all the other senses are obliterated in it, and there
is no need for the tongue. Take the case of Laila:
She was not a spiritual being, but of flesh, fashioned
of water and clay. Yet passion for her produced
such absorption, and so utterly seized and
overwhelmed Majnun, that he had no need to see
Laila with his eyes, no need to hear her voice. He
discourse 11
could not separate himself from the thought of
her, causing him to cry:
Your name is upon my tongue.
Your image is in my sight.
Your memory in my heart,
Where can I send these words I write?
The physical has such power that passion can
bring us into a state where we are never apart
from our beloved. All our senses are absorbed:
sight, hearing, smell and the rest. No sense seeks
a separate view, all being united. If each sense
plays its part in full, all are immersed in one experience
and desire nothing else. Seeking for a separate
view proves that one sense has not found its
true, whole allotment. It is enjoying an incomplete
portion and therefore is not immersed, nor
fulfilled. Then the other senses begin seeking their
own part, and all become divided.
From the viewpoint of reality, all the senses see
one thing, but from the standpoint of outward
form they are each different from the other. When
one sense is moved to absorption, all the senses
become absorbed in it. When a fly flies upward it
moves its wings, its head and its whole body sep-
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arately; but when it is immersed in honey, then all
its parts are alike—none can move at all.
Absorption is such that whoever enters it is no
longer there. They make no more efforts, they
cease to act and move. They are immersed in the
water. No action is their action; it is the action of
the water. But if they flail about in the water with
their hands and feet, they are not truly submerged.
If they utter a cry, “I am drowning,” this
too is not absorption.
Take the famous utterance, “I am God.” Some
people think this is a great pretension, but “I am
God” is in fact a great humility. Those who say,
instead, “I am a servant of God” believe that two
exist, themselves and God. But those who say, “I
am God” have become nothing and have cast
themselves to the winds. They say, “I am God”
meaning, “I am not, God is all. There is no existence
but God. I have lost all separation. I am
nothing.” In this the humility is greater.
This is what ordinary people don’t understand.
When they render service in honor of God’s glory,
their servanthood is still present. Even though it is
for the sake of God, they still see themselves and
their own actions as well as God—they are not
drowned in the water. That person is drowned
when no movement, nor any action belongs to
them, all their movements spring from the movement
of the water.
A lion was chasing a deer, and the deer was
fleeing. There were two beings evident: the lion
and the deer. But when the lion caught up with
the deer, and the deer was overpowered beneath
the lion’s clutch, and out of terror became unconscious
and senseless, collapsing before the lion in
that moment only the lion remained. The deer
was effaced and no longer existed.
True absorption is when God creates in saints
a fear. This is not the fear of men and women who
are scared of lions, leopards and death. Rather, it
is the fear of separation. This fear is a gift from
God, just as security, pleasure and joy, eating and
sleeping—all these are gifts from God.
God shows the saints, while they are fully conscious,
forms that only they can see. The inner
form of the lion, leopard, and fire become visible
so they will know that reality is not of this world,
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but of the world unseen, projected forth to them.
In the same way, they are shown their own Self in
magnificent form. Likewise, gardens and rivers,
maids of Paradise and palaces, all types of food
and drink, robes of honor, fleet steeds, cities, castles
and every kind of marvel—they know these
are not of this world. God shows and reveals
these secrets before their eyes. Thus they come to
know with certainty that fear of separation comes
from God, as do security, comfort and all spiritual
displays.
Now this fear of separation does not resemble
the fears that most men and women know,
because it is a result of revelation and experience.
God clearly shows the saint that all things belong
to God. The philosophers may know this, but
they know it by intellectual proof, and proof is
not permanent. The pleasure that comes from
proof will not last. When the memory of the proof
passes, its warmth and thrill pass away as well.
Thus, we know by proof that this house had a
builder. We know by proof that this builder had
eyes and was not blind, had power and was not
powerless, was living and not dead, and existed
before the house was built. All these facts we
know, but we know them by proof. Such proof is
not permanent, and is soon forgotten. Lovers of
God, however, being absorbed in God, have come
to know the Builder and have seen with the eye of
knowingness. They have eaten bread and salt
together, and mingled the two. The Builder is
never absent from their heart and their gaze. Men
and women such as this pass away in God. With
them, sin is not sin, and crime is not crime, since
they are absorbed.
A certain king ordered his slaves, every one, to
take in their hand a golden cup to greet a guest.
His favorite slave was also commanded to take a
cup. When the king showed his face, that special
slave, on beholding the king, lost control of himself
and was overwhelmed. The cup fell from his
hand and was shattered. When the other slaves
saw this they said, “Perhaps we should do this as
well,” and they cast down their cups deliberately.
“Why did you do that?” the king scolded
them.
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“He was your favorite, and that was what he
did,” they replied.
“Fools!” the king cried out. “He didn’t do that.
I did it.”
To outward eyes, all of the slaves were sinful.
But that one act was the very acme of obedience.
Indeed, it transcended obedience and sin. Of them
all, the true lover was that one slave. The others
were but followers of the king. Thus, they followed
that slave, since he had become the essence
of the king, only outwardly wearing the form of
slavery. He was filled with the beauty of the king.
God declares, “If it weren’t for you, I would
never have created the heavens.” This is the same
as “I am God.” It means, “I created the heavens
for I love you as Myself.” This is “I am God” in
another language and another tongue.
Though the words of the great saints appear in
a hundred different forms, since God is one and
the Way is one, how can their words be different?
Though their teachings appear to contradict, their
meaning is one. Separation exists in their outward
form only; in inner purpose they all agree.
A prince orders a tent to be stitched. One person
twists the rope, another strikes the pegs,
another weaves the cloth, another stitches, another
rends, another uses a needle. Though to outward
appearance they are diverse and different, in
inner purpose they are united and performing a
single task.
So it is with the affairs of this world. When you
look at it carefully, all are doing God’s service;
reprobate and righteous, sinner and disciple, devil
and angel. For example, the king wants to test
and try his slaves so the steadfast can be sorted
from the weak-hearted, the loyal from the traitor,
the faithful from the fake. If he did not have
tempters and provokers, how could he test his
slaves’ loyalty? So, the tempters and provokers
are serving the king, since it is by the king’s will
that they act. He sends a wind to show the difference
between the stable and the unstable, to separate
the gnat from the sparrow-hawk, so the
gnat will vanish and the sparrow-hawk remain.
A certain king ordered a slavegirl to adorn herself
and offer herself to his slaves, so their loyalty
could be revealed. Though the girl’s action
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appears sinful outwardly, in reality she is doing
the king’s work.
The great saints have seen for themselves, not
by proof and rote, but face to face and unveiled,
that all people—good or evil—are obedient servants
of God. Nothing exists that does not proclaim
God’s praise. Therefore, to the saints, this
world itself is the resurrection, since the resurrection
means all people serving God and doing no
other work but God’s work. These saints perceive
this truth even here below, for even were the veil
removed they would not increase in their certainty.
All may be servants, but some have been raised
above others in their closeness to God. To those
who are absorbed, all differences are lost. To
those who have not yet arrived, many stages
appear between one and another.
Let me cite a parallel. A gardener planted a
tree, and the tree bore fruit. Surely, this tree that
bore fruit is better than a hundred trees that are
barren. It is possible those other trees may never
bear at all, since there are many stages of growth
where disease might attack. A pilgrim who reaches
the Kaaba is better than the pilgrim who is still
travelling in the desert. The one in the desert fears
they may not pass the many landmarks and reach
the Kaaba, while the former has already reached
their destination. One certainty is better than a
hundred doubts.
The Amir said: “Those who have not arrived
still have hope.”
Rumi answered: What is the hopeful person
compared to one who has arrived? There is a vast
difference between fear and attainment. Why
should I speak of such a difference when it is
obvious to all? What I am speaking about is
attainment, since there are many differences
between the stations of attainment.
It is possible to indicate the various stages of
fear and the stations of fear, but the stations of
attainment have no indication. In the world of
fear everyone decides what they will devote to
honor God. One person gives through physical
efforts, another donates their wealth, another
sacrifices their life. One worships with fasting,
another with prayer, another by ten prostrations,
another by a hundred. These stages are very dif-
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ferent and can easily be distinguished. In the same
manner there are stages of travel from Konya to
Caesarea that are distinct and well-known: One
must pass Qaimaz, Uprukh, Sultan, and so forth.
But the stages by sea from Antalya to Alexandria
are without landmarks. The ship’s captain knows
the signs, but they are not shared with landsmen
since landsmen cannot understand.
The Amir said: “But even speaking about it
imparts some benefit. We may not know everything,
yet still we learn a little, and can find out
and guess the rest.”
Rumi replied: Yes indeed, by God! Someone
sits wakeful through the dark night, thinking of
some way to find the day. Though they do not
know how to get there, still, in waiting for daylight,
the day approaches. Another person is travelling
by caravan upon a dark night in a storming
rain. They do not know where they have gone,
which way they are passing, or what distance they
have covered, but when day comes they see the
results of that travelling and go on from there.
Whoever labors for the glory of God, though both
their eyes are sealed, their labor is not lost. Even
an atom’s weight of good is not lost. Though all
within is dark and veiled, and they do not see how
far they have progressed, still in the end they will
know. “This world is the seedplot of the world to
come.” Whatever they sow here, they will reap in
the next world.
Jesus laughed a lot. John wept a lot. John said
to Jesus, “You have become exceedingly carefree
against all the subtle deceits, that you laugh so
much.” Jesus replied, “You have become exceedingly
unmindful of the subtle, mysterious, wonderful
graces and loving kindness of God, that
you weep so much.” One of God’s saints was present
at this incident. He asked God, “Which of
these two has the higher station?” God answered,
“He who thinks better of Me.” In other words, “I
come when you think of Me. Each person has an
image and an idea of Me. Whatever picture he
forms of Me, there I am. I fill that picture where
God dwells. I care nothing for that point of view
where God does not exist. Cleanse your thoughts,
O human, for they are My abode and dwelling
place.”
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Now test yourself as to weeping and laughter,
fasting and prayer, solitude and company, and the
rest. Which of these is more profitable to you?
Whichever brings you straighter on the road and
gains you the greatest advancement, choose that
task. Take counsel from your heart, even though
others may disagree. The truth is within you.
Compare it with what others say. When they
agree, then follow that course.
The physician comes to someone who is sick
and questions the inward doctor; for within you
there is a doctor, namely your natural temperament,
instincts and inclinations. Therefore the
external physician questions it: “This food that
you ate, how was it? Was it light? Was it heavy?
How was your sleep?” From what the inward
doctor answers, the external physician makes
their prescription. Therefore the root of the matter
is the inward doctor; the patient’s own
response. When this inner doctor is feeble and its
temperament is corrupt, the sick person sees
things incorrectly and gives skewed indications.
They say that sugar is bitter, vinegar is sweet.
Therefore they need the external physician to
guide them until their own instinct is restored.
After that they consult only their own inward
doctor to find the counsel they need.
We have a similar doctor within our spiritual
being. When this higher Self is feeble, our inward
senses perceive falsely, and whatever we follow is
contrary to the truth. So the saints are physicians
who guide a person until their instinct is restored
to its right balance, and their religion and their
heart have gathered strength.
“Show me things as they truly are.”
Humanity is a mighty volume. Within the people
of this world all things are written, but veils
and darkness do not allow men and women to
read the knowledge within themselves. The veils
and darknesses are those many preoccupations,
worldly desires and thoughts of every kind. Yet,
though they are wrapped in darkness and are hidden
by so many veils, they can still read something
and therefore learn. Consider when these
darknesses and veils are removed, what they will
learn then, and what varieties of knowledge they
will discover within!
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After all, all these trades and professions—tailoring,
building, carpentry, goldsmithery, science,
astronomy, medicine and the rest of the world’s
countless and innumerable callings—all these
were discovered from within by some person,
they were not revealed through stones and dirt.
When they say that a raven taught people to bury
the dead, even that was due to the reflection of a
human being. Someone’s own inner urge drove
them to learn that. After all, the instincts of the
bird are but a part of humanity, but a part does
not command the whole.
After the Amir left, someone said: “When the
Amir comes, the Master utters mighty words. The
words never stop, because he is a master of
words. Words flow from him without interruption.”
Rumi said: If in winter time the trees do not
put forth leaves and fruit, people should not think
they are not working. They are continually at
work. Winter is the season of gathering; summer
is the season of spending. Everyone sees the
spending, but they do not see the gathering in. In
the same way, a person gives a party and spends
all sorts of money on it. Everyone sees this, but no
one sees the gathering in and collecting little by
little for the sake of that entertainment. No one
sees any of that. Yet the ingathering is the root of
the matter, for the spending comes out of that
income.
Whoever we are in unison with, we communicate
with them every moment, even in silence, in
absence and presence alike. Even in battle with
others, we are together. We may strike against
others with our fists; still, we are speaking to them
and are absorbed in one action with them.
Therefore we are in unison. Don’t become distracted
by the fists—in those fists are spiritual
gifts. You don’t believe this? Then open those
fists, and see the difference between the sweet joy
of unison, and pearls of great price.
Many people speak fine, graceful sayings and
lofty wisdom in verse and prose. The inclination
of the Amir towards us is not on account of lofty
wisdom, graceful sayings and sermonizing.
Things of that kind are to be found everywhere,
and are by no means in short supply. His loving
me and his inclination towards me is not for those
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things. He sees something else. He sees a light
transcending what he finds from others.
It is related that a certain king summoned
Majnun before him.
“What has happened to you. What has befallen
you?” the king inquired. “You have disgraced
yourself, forsaken your hearth and home, become
wasted and utterly destroyed. What is Laila?
What beauty is hers? I will show you many beautiful
and lovely girls. Name your ransom and I
will bestow them upon you.”
When they were brought to court, Majnun and
the lovely girls were duly introduced. Majnun
kept his head cast down, staring in front of him.
“Well now, lift up your head and look!” the
king commanded.
“I am afraid,” Majnun replied. “My love for
Laila is a drawn sword. If I raise my head, that
blade will strike it off.”
Majnun had become immersed in his love for
Laila. Yet, the other girls also had eyes and lips
and hair. What then had he found in Laila to
come to such a state?
After the Amir arrived, Rumi said: I’ve been longing
to call on you. But, knowing you were busy
with the interests of the people, I spared you the
trouble.
The Amir answered: “This duty has been
pressing upon me. Now that the emergency has
ended, from now on I will wait upon you.”
Rumi said: There is no difference. It is all the
same thing. You are so gracious that all things are
the same to you. Since today it is you who are
occupied with good deeds and charities, naturally
I am able to call on you.
Just now some of us were discussing this question:
If a saint, who carries God’s secret jewel
[God’s grace], strikes someone, breaking their
nose and jaw, who is the wronged party?
Everyone says the one hurt has been wronged, but
in reality the wronged person is the saint who is
striking the blow. The one who was punched and
had their head broken is the wrongdoer, and the
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FIHI MA FIHI V 99
saint is surely the wronged party since they carry
God’s jewel. The saint is consumed in God, and
therefore their actions are God’s actions. We
wouldn’t call God a wrongdoer.
The Prophet raided, killed and spilled blood,
but the unbelievers were the wrongdoers, and
Mohammed was wronged. For example, a westerner
lives in the West. An oriental comes to visit.
The westerner is a stranger to the oriental, but
who is the real stranger? Is not the oriental a
stranger to the entire western world?
Still, this whole world is but a house, no more.
Whether we go from this room to that room or
from this corner to that corner, are we still not in
the same house? But the saints who possess God’s
jewel have left this house. They have gone
beyond. Mohammed said, “Islam began a
stranger and will return a stranger as it began.”
Yet is not this world the real stranger? Therefore,
when the Prophet was defeated he was the
wronged party, and when he defeated his enemies,
he was still the wronged party. For in both cases
he was in the right, and the wronged party is the
one who is in the right.
Mohammed’s heart ached for his prisoners. To
comfort the Prophet, God sent down a revelation
saying: O Prophet, say to the prisoners in your
hands, “If you turn to truth and the righteous
way, God will deliver you out of bondage. He will
restore everything you have lost, and much more,
including treasures in the world to come.”
The Amir asked: “When a servant of God performs
a service, does the grace and good arise
from that action, or is it the gift of God?”
Rumi answered: It is the gift of God and the
grace of God. Yet God, out of Its exceeding love
gives credit for both the action and the grace to
the servant, declaring, “Both are yours.”
The Amir said: “Since God has such love, then
everyone who seeks in truth shall find.”
Rumi said: But without a guide this does not
come to pass. So, when the Israelites were obedient
to Moses, ways were opened up to them even
through the sea. But when they were disobedient,
they remained in the wilderness for many years.
The leaders of a given time are charged to secure
the welfare of those who are bound to them and
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are strictly obedient. For instance, if a group of
soldiers follow the orders of their commander, he
too cares for their welfare and is duty bound to
work at securing it. But if they are not obedient,
how can he be expected to look after their interests?
The mind is the commander of the human
body. So long as the parts of the body surrender
to it, all the body’s affairs proceed perfectly, but
when they disobey, the whole natural order
breaks down. Haven’t you seen when a man is
drunk, his hands and feet and tongue refuse to
obey him? Then on the following day, when he is
sober again, he cries, “What have I done? Why
did I do and say such horrible things?”
In the same way, a village works together in
perfect order only when there is a leader that the
villagers follow.
Just as the mind is commander in the midst of
the body, so all the different beings who make up
humankind, together with their many minds,
knowledge, speculation and learning, are the
body of humanity, and the saint is the mind in the
midst of them. Now when these people, who are
the body, do not follow that mind, their affairs all
fall into confusion and conflict.
They must surrender in such a fashion that no
matter what the saint does, they accept it without
the argument of their own mind. For often, with
their own mind, they cannot understand the
saint’s actions. Therefore, they must submit to
whatever the saint says. Similarly, when a child is
apprenticed to a tailor they must obey whatever
they are told to do. If they are given a patch to
sew, they must sew it. If they are given a hem, they
must sew that hem. If they wish to learn their
trade, they must surrender their own desires completely
and become submissive to the tailor’s
orders.
“The Night of Power is better
Than a thousand months.”
God offers us divine guidance and care, which
are superior to a hundred thousand strivings and
struggles. One tug from God is better than the
efforts of all our powers. That is to say, when
divine care intervenes it does the work of a hundred
thousand struggles and more. Struggling is
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fine, and useful, but what is it compared to God’s
guidance and care?
The Amir asked: “Does God’s care create
struggles?”
Rumi answered: Why shouldn’t it? When
divine care arrives, struggling begins. Jesus—what
a struggle he made! Yet John the Baptist recognized
that gift while still in Mary’s womb. Grace
comes first. Then if, by accident, awareness enters
in, this is the fruit of God’s grace—the pure gift of
the Lord. If this were not true, then how could
Jesus’ disciples have received such blessings?
Grace and submission are like a spark of fire
that leaps. First we receive the gift. But if you add
cotton and nurse that spark until it grows, then
that is submission. In the beginning your spark is
small and weak. But once you have nursed that
weakling fire it spreads across the world and sets
the universe aflame. The little spark becomes a
great and powerful blaze.
Someone said to the Amir: “Our Master loves
you very much.”
Rumi replied: Neither my coming nor my
speaking is an indication of my love. I say whatever
comes into me. If God wills, It makes these
few words profitable so they will grow within
your heart, bringing great rewards. If God wills
not, if even a hundred thousand words are spoken,
they will not lodge in the heart but will pass
by and be forgotten. If a spark of fire lands upon
a burnt rag and God wills, that one spark will
take and engulf the rag. If God wills not, a hundred
sparks will fall on that tinder and leave no
mark.
These words are God’s army. By God’s authority
they open and seize fortresses. If God commands
thousands of horsemen to go and show
their faces at such and such a fortress but not to
capture it, so it will be. If It commands a single
horseman to seize that fortress, that same single
horseman will open the fortress gates and capture
it.
God sent a gnat against Nimrod and it
destroyed him. “Equal in the eyes of the Gnostic
are a penny and a dollar, a lion and a cat.” If God
bestows Its blessing, one penny does the work of
a thousand dollars and more. If God withholds Its
blessing from a thousand dollars, they cannot do
the work of one penny. So too, if God commis-
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sions the cat it destroys the lion, as the gnat
destroyed Nimrod. In short, when we realize that
all things are of God, all things become one and
the same in our eyes.
I hope, too, that you will hear these words
within your hearts, for that would be profitable.
But if a thousand thieves come from outside, they
cannot open the door without some fellow-thief
inside who can unlock that door. Speak a thousand
words from the outside, still, so long as there
is none to answer from within, the door never
opens. So too with a tree—as long as there is no
moist thirst in its roots, even if you poured a
thousand torrents of water over it, it would
accomplish nothing. First there must be a thirst in
its roots for the water to nourish it. Although the
whole world is ablaze with the sun’s light, unless
there is that spark of light within the eye, no one
can behold that light. The root of the matter is the
receptiveness within Soul.
Soul is one thing and spirit is another. Don’t
you see during sleep how Soul travels abroad?
Spirit remains in the body, keeping it alive, but
Soul wanders and is transformed. When
Mohammed said, “He who knows his own self
knows his Lord,” he was speaking of knowing
Soul.
If we say that he was speaking of this soul or
that soul, that is something very different. On the
other hand, if we explain it as meaning Soul,
Itself, the listener may still think we mean one
soul, since they do not yet know Soul, Itself. Mere
words cannot convey this spiritual understanding.
Words only reveal what the heart has an ear to
hear.
Beyond this world is another world for us. This
world and its delights cater to the animal within
us. These pleasures all fill our animal nature,
while our real self slowly dies. They say, “The
human being is a rational animal,” yet we consist
of two things. Lusts and desires feed our animality
in this material world. But as for our true
essence, its food is knowledge, wisdom, and the
sight of God. The animality within us flees away
from God, while our spiritual self flees away from
this world.
“One of you is an unbeliever,
And one of you a believer.”
Two people are warring within you.
Who shall succeed?
The one that Fortune makes her friend.
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This world is a world of winter. Isn’t the name
“solid” given to inanimate things? These stones
and mountains, and the garments worn by this
world, are all solidified. The inner essence of this
world can be known by its effects: it is wind and
bitter cold. It is like the winter season when all
things are frozen. What manner of winter is it? A
winter of the mind. When that divine zephyr
comes along, these mountains will begin to melt,
and the solidity of this world will dissolve—just
like when the warmth of summer comes along, all
the snow and ice turn to water. On the resurrection
day, when that zephyr blows, all things will
melt away.
God makes these words an army to surround
you and protect you against the enemy, and to be
the means of overwhelming the enemy. For there
are enemies—enemies within and enemies without.
Yet they are really nothing—what could they
be?
Don’t you see how a thousand godless people
submit themselves to one leader who becomes
their ruler, and that ruler is captive to his own
thoughts? From this it is easy to see the effect of
thoughts, since through one feeble and muddled
thought thousands of people and worlds are
taken prisoner. Consider then, those whose
thoughts are without limitations—what grandeur
and splendor they possess, how easily they overwhelm
the enemy, and what worlds they subdue!
When I see the limitless wisdom that exists,
while armies unending stretch through waste
upon waste, all prisoners of one person, and that
person the prisoner of a contemptible little
thought—where do they all stand compared to
thoughts of powerful depths, infinite light, holy,
and sublime?
Therefore thoughts have real effects. In this
physical world all living things merely follow and
act as instruments of thought. Without thought
they are inanimate and solid. In the same way,
those who understand only the outer form are
also solid. They cannot penetrate the meaning.
They are children, spiritually, and immature even
if they are Sufi sheikhs, a hundred years old.
“We have returned from the lesser holy war
To fight the Greater Holy War.”
We all see the battle with outward things and
people, and we draw up our forces against these
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formal adversaries. We must also draw up our
forces against the armies of thoughts, so that
desirable thoughts will defeat destructive
thoughts and drive them out of the kingdom of
our bodies. This then is indeed the greater struggle
and the greater war.
Thoughts have their effect. They work beyond
the influence of the body like the Laws of Nature
without any instrument keep the heavens turning.
Therefore philosophers say that thoughts don’t
require a body. After all, the body is but an accident.
Why should anyone dwell on an accident?
Reality is like a musk-pod, and this material
world and its delights are merely the scent of that
musk. This scent is but transient, a mere accident.
The individual who seeks the musk itself, not content
with only the scent, that person is wise. But
whoever is satisfied to possess the scent is a fool.
They have chased after a thing their hand cannot
grasp, for the scent is merely an attribute of the
musk. So long as the musk is present in this
world, its scent comes to the nostrils. However,
when it leaves this world and crosses that invisible
veil, all those who lived by its scent die. The
scent follows the musk, and goes wherever the
musk goes.
Fortunate is the person who finds the musk
from following its scent and then becomes one
with the musk. They never die, but become an
eternal part of the musk’s essence, imbued with
the qualities of the musk. They will carry its scent
to the world, and the world is revived by them.
Only the name of what that person used to be survives,
as with a horse or any other animal that has
turned to salt in the desert, only the name of horse
remains to it. In effect and in truth it has now
become a part of that great ocean of salt. What
good or harm can a name do? It will not bring it
out of its saltiness. And if you give some other
name to this salt-mine, it will not change its taste.
So it behooves us to turn away from the pleasures
and delights of this world, that are the rays
and reflections of God. We must not become content
with this much, even though this much exists
through God’s grace and the radiance of God’s
beauty. Still, it is not eternal. From God’s viewpoint
it is eternal, but from our viewpoint it is
not. It is like the rays of the sun that shine into
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our house, for though they are rays of the sun and
are light, yet they belong to the sun. When the sun
sinks, the light disappears too. Therefore it
behooves us to become the Sun, so the fear of separation
cannot cloud our life.
There is giving, and there is knowingness.
Some have generosity and compassion but no true
knowledge. Some have knowledge but no selfsacrifice.
When both are present, that person is
blessed and prosperous. Such a being is truly
incomparable.
A stranger is going along a road, but does not
know where the road begins or ends, or whether
they have wandered the wrong way. They go on
blindly, hoping that perhaps a cock will crow, or
some other sign of habitation will appear. How
can such a stranger be compared with those who
know the road and travel at ease, not needing sign
or waymark? They have their assigned task clearly
before them. Therefore, knowing exceeds all
else.
Mohammed said, “The night is long, do not
shorten it with your sleep. The day is bright, do
not darken it with your sins.”
The night is long for you to voice your inmost
secrets and ask for your needs without the distraction
of others, without the disturbance of
friends and foes. You are granted peace and privacy
as God draws down the veil before the eyes
of others, so your acts may be honest, truthful
and done wholly for God.
At night the hypocrite is exposed. The world
may be hidden by the dark and shown clearly by
the light of day, but at night the hypocrite stands
revealed from the sincere.
“Since nobody is watching,” the hypocrite
says, “for whose sake should I pretend?”
Somebody is watching, but the hypocrite’s eyes
are closed and cannot see that One.
In times of distress everyone calls for help; in
times of toothache, and earache, in doubt, fear
and insecurity. In secret everyone calls out hoping
discourse 13
FIHI MA FIHI V 113
that One will hear and grant their requests.
Privately, secretly, people perform good deeds to
ward off weakness and restore their strength,
trusting that Life will accept their gifts and
efforts. When they are restored to health and
peace of mind, then suddenly their faith leaves,
and the phantom of anxiety soon returns.
“O God,” they cry again, “we were in such a
terrible state when, with all sincerity, we called
upon you from our prison corner. For a hundred
prayers you granted our requests. Now, freed of
the prison, we are still as much in need. Bring us
out of this world of darkness into that world of
the prophets, the world of light. Why can freedom
not come without prisons and pain? A thousand
desires fill us, both good and deceitful, and the
conflict of these phantoms brings a thousand tortures
that leave us weary. Where is that sure faith
that burns up all phantoms?”
God answers, “The seeker of pleasure in you is
your enemy and My enemy.
‘Do not take your enemy
and My enemy for a friend.’
When your pleasure-seeking self is imprisoned,
filled with trouble and pain, then your freedom
arrives and gathers strength. A thousand times
you have proved that freedom comes to you out
of toothache, headache and fear. Why then are
you chained to bodily comfort? Why are you
always occupied with tending the flesh? Do not
forget the end of that thread: unravel those bodily
passions till you have attained your eternal passion,
and find freedom from the prison of darkness.”
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Sheikh Ibrahim said: “Whenever Saif-al-Din
Farrukh ordered someone to be given a beating,
he would immediately occupy himself until the
beating was over, so that no one could intercede.”
Rumi said: Whatever you see in this world corresponds
exactly with what is in the world
beyond. All these realities are samples of the other
Reality. Whatever exists in this world has come
from there.
The bald man of Baalbek carried on his head
trays and samples of various herbs—a pinch of
pepper, a pinch of mastic, a pinch from every
heap. The heaps were infinite, but there was no
room on his tray for more. People are like the
bald man of Baalbek, they are loaded with pinches
and pieces out of the treasuries of God, some
known and some hidden—a piece of hearing, a
piece of speech, a piece of reason, a piece of generosity,
a piece of knowledge. For this reason our
work is always a reflection of God.
discourse 14
There are beings who are hawkers of God.
Night and day they fill trays. By day you spend
away your portion to make your living, by night
these beings replenish your tray.
For instance, in the other world there are sights
and visions of many kinds. A sample of those has
been sent to you to see in this world. Sight is not
limited to this world only, but the human body
cannot bear more than this.
Thousands of people, generation after generation,
have come and filled themselves from that
Sea, returning again and again. That source is
infinite. The longer we stay upon that Infinite Sea,
the colder our heart grows for this world of samples.
This world is coined in that Mint and must
return to that Mint again. All our parts have
issued from that Mint, are samples of that Mint,
and must return again—small and great, for all
living creatures. Yet upon the tray of this world
life becomes visible; without the tray it is not visible.
That infinite world is a subtle world and does
not reveal itself openly—yet look how wonderfully
it makes its appearance here! Don’t you see
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how the spring breeze becomes visible in the trees
and grasses, the rose-beds and sweet herbs?
Through the swaying of fields and flowers you
witness the beauty of spring. But when you look
upon the breeze itself, you see nothing. This isn’t
because the beauty of those rose-beds are outside
the reality of the breeze, for the spring breeze contains
images of swaying rose-beds and sweet
herbs, but those images are subtle and invisible.
Only through some medium are they revealed out
of their subtlety.
Likewise in the human being these qualities are
hidden and only become manifest through an
inward or outward medium; one person through
speech, another through work, another during
times of war or peace. You cannot see these
attributes within yourself—look and you will find
nothing there—so you believe yourself empty of
these infinite attributes. These attributes do not
come forth and change you into something else
from what you were. Rather, these qualities are
hidden in you, like the water in the sea.
Water cannot leave the sea except through the
sun’s heat in the form of a cloud; it cannot
become visible except in a wave. Your wave is a
commotion visible within you, but so long as the
sea is still, you see nothing. Your body is on the
shore of the sea, and Soul is a part of the ocean
itself. Do you not see how many fishes, snakes,
birds, and creatures of all kinds come forth and
show themselves, and then return to the sea? Your
attributes such as patience, friendship, loyalty and
the rest, come forth from this sea.
These qualities are subtle lovers of God. You
can only glimpse them through the medium of the
tongue. But because of their subtlety, without
speech they are naked and they retreat back out of
sight into the arms of God.
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Within people there is a longing and a desire such
that, even if a hundred thousand worlds were
theirs to own, still they would find no rest or comfort.
They try every trade and craft, studying
astronomy, medicine and every other subject, but
they reach no completion, for they have not found
their true desire. Poets call the Beloved “heart’s
ease,” because there the heart finds ease. How can
we find peace and rest in anything but the
Beloved?
All these pleasures and pursuits are like a ladder.
The rungs of a ladder are not a place to make
one’s home; they are for passing by. Fortunate are
those who learn this. The long road becomes
short for them, and they do not waste their lives
upon the steps.
Someone asked: “The Mongols have seized
property by force, and from time to time they give
this property back to us. This is a strange situation.
Is it lawful to accept this property? What is
your ruling?”
discourse 15
Rumi answered: Whatever the Mongols seize
and give up returns into the grasp and treasury of
God. For example, when you fill a jug or a barrel
from the river and carry it away, that becomes
your property. So long as it is in the jug or barrel,
nobody has the right to interfere. Whoever takes
the jug without permission is guilty of theft. But
once they pour the water back into the river, it
passes out of ownership and is lawful for anyone
to take once again. So our property is unlawful to
them, while their property is lawful to us since by
their giving it up they have returned it to the treasury
of God.
Someone said: “When the Mongols first came
to these parts they were naked and bare. They
rode on bullocks and their weapons were made of
wood. Now they are sleek and well-fed, they have
splendid Arab horses and carry fine arms.”
Rumi said: When they were desperate and
weak and had no strength, God helped them and
answered their prayer. Now, when they are so
powerful and mighty, God is destroying them
with the comforts of the feeblest, so they will realize
it was through God’s bounty and support that
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they captured the world, and not by their own
force and power.
They used to live in a wilderness, far from civilization,
without means, poor, naked and needy.
By chance, some of them came to trade in the territory
of the Khvarizmshah. They began to buy
and sell, purchasing muslin to clothe their bodies.
The Khvarizmshah stopped them, ordering them
to be put to death, and forcing payment from the
rest of them. The Mongols went humbly before
their king, saying, “They have killed us.” Their
king asked for ten days, and then entered a deep
cave where he fasted and humbled himself. On
the tenth day a proclamation came from God, “I
have accepted your supplication. Come forth!
Wherever you go, you shall be victorious.” So it
was. When they came forth, by God’s command
they won the victory and captured the world.
Someone said: “The Mongols also believe in
the resurrection and say that there will be a judgement.”
Rumi said: They lie, desiring to be accepted by
Muslims. If they really believe in the resurrection,
where is the evidence to prove it? The sins,
wrongs and evils they commit are like snow and
ice piled together as high as a mountain. When
thoughts of the resurrection come to us, like the
sun it melts those snows of sinfulness as the sun in
the heaven melts anything hard. How can the
summer sun come and leave the snow and ice of
winter intact? Seeing their snow and ice piled
heap upon heap is proof that the sun has not
shone upon them.
Although God has promised that all good and
evil will be rewarded justly on the last day, yet a
sample of this comes to pass every moment and in
every instant. If happiness enters into someone’s
heart, that is his or her reward for making another
happy. If they become sorrowful, it is because
they have brought sorrow to another. These are
gifts from the other world and tokens of that day
of rewards, so that by these little things we may
come to understand those great matters, just as a
handful of corn is offered as a token of the whole
heap.
The Prophet, for all his majesty and greatness,
one night felt pain in his hand. It was revealed to
him that this pain was the effect of a pain in the
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hands of ‘Abbas. For he had taken ‘Abbas captive
and had bound his hands together with all the
prisoners. Although the tying of his hands was
done at God’s order, still the Prophet had to suffer.
These troubles and depressions that come to
you are the effect of some injury and wrong you
have committed. Even if you cannot remember in
detail what you have done, still from the results
you can know the deed. You may not remember
whether it came from your own negligence or
ignorance, or because others swayed you into
wrongful action. But look at the results: how
much did you fall from grace, or how much has
your heart expanded? Certainly a fall from grace
is the response of disobedience to God, and
expansion of the heart is the reward of obedience.
Why, the Prophet himself was rebuked because he
turned a ring on his finger. He was told, “We did
not create you for idleness and play.” From this
decide for yourself whether your day is passed in
obedience or disobedience.Moses was occupied
with the affairs of his people. Although he was at
God’s command and completely served God, yet
one side of him was occupied with humanity for
the general good. Khadir was occupied with God
completely; he hid himself from the sight of others.
Mohammed was occupied at first wholly with
God, then he was told, “Call the people. Counsel
them and reform them.” Mohammed wept and
lamented, saying, “Oh, my Lord, what sin have I
committed? Why do you drive me from Your
presence? I have no desire for this world.” God
said to him, “Mohammed, do not despair, I will
not abandon you. Even in the midst of others you
shall be with Me. When you are occupied with
people, not one hair of the head of this hour with
Me, not one, will be taken from you. In whatever
work you are engaged, you will be in very union
with Me.”Someone asked: “The eternal decrees
that God has predestined, do they ever
change?”Rumi answered: How could God say,
“Do evil to find good?” If someone sows wheat,
can they gather barley? Or if they sow barley, will
they gather wheat? That is impossible. All the
saints and prophets have said that good is the
reward of good, evil the reward of evil.”And
whoever does an atoms weight of goodshall see
it,And whoever does an atoms weight of evilshall
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see it.”Someone interjected: “But we see wicked
people turn virtuous, and virtuous people turn
wicked.”Rumi answered: Well, those wicked men
and women did some good, or thought good
things, which brought them virtue. And those virtuous
people did some evil act, or contemplated
evil things, turning them wicked.Someone asked:
“What is the meaning of the saying, ‘Blessings
upon the Prophet’?”Rumi answered: It means
that our acts of adoration, service and worship do
not belong to us, they come from God. Just like
the season of spring brings the planting of seeds,
and jaunts into the wilderness. They are the gift
and bounty of spring.The people of this world see
secondary causes and think they are the origin of
everything. God’s saints see the actualities as they
are created and come into being. Secondary causes
are only a veil to occupy the common people.
God promised Zachariah, “I will give you a
son.” Zachariah cried, “I am an old man, and my
wife is old. My instrument of lust has become feeble,
and my wife can no longer conceive. Lord,
how can a son be born?”The answer came, “Take
heed Zachariah! You have lost the clue. I have
shown you a hundred thousand times that actualities
have no causes. This very moment, I could
produce out of you a hundred thousand sons
without a wife and without pregnancy. Indeed, if
I make the sign, a whole people will come forth,
completely formed and grown. Did I not bring
you into being in the world of spirits without a
mother or father? Why do you forget these
things?” The rank and substance of the prophets
and saints and the many states of humanity can be
set forth in a parable: Slaves are brought out of
the heathen lands into the realm of Muslimdom,
where they are sold. Some are brought at the age
of five years, some are ten, and some are fifteen
years old. Those who were brought as children,
having been nurtured for many years amongst
Muslims, completely forget their homeland. No
trace of it remains in their memory. Those
brought a little older remember a little. Those
much older remember much more.In the world
beyond, all are in the Presence of God. The food
and sustenance there is the speech of God, without
letters and without sounds. Those who are
brought into this world as children, when they
hear that Speech, remember nothing of their for-
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mer state and see themselves as strangers to that
Speech. They are veiled from God, being wholly
sunk in forgetfulness. Some remember a little bit,
and the longing and yearning for the other side is
quickened in them. They seek out Truth. They are
the believers. Some, when they hear that Speech,
the Presence of God becomes manifest before
their eyes, even as it was long ago. The veils are
entirely removed, and they are joined in that
union. These are the prophets and the saints.Now
I say this to you earnestly, when the brides of
heavenly truth show their faces within you and
their secrets are revealed, beware, do not tell this
to strangers. Do not describe what you have witnessed
to others, and do not tell everyone these
words of mine.”Do not impart wisdom to those
not worthy,lest you do wisdom wrong.And, do
not withhold from the worthy,lest you do them
wrong.”If a fair and adorable lover surrenders to
you privately in your house, saying, “Show me to
no one, for I belong to you,” it would never be
proper for you to parade her in the bazaars and to
call out, “Come and see this beauty!” That would
never be agreeable to such an adorable one. She
would be enraged against you.God has made
these words unlawful to some. Even so, dwellers
in Hell cry out to the dwellers in Paradise, saying,
“Where is your generosity and your humanity?
Out of those gifts and bounties that God has
given to you, out of charity and common kindness
if you sprinkle just a little upon us, could that be
so difficult? We are burning and melting in this
fire. Out of those fruits, or out of those clear
waters of Paradise, if you sprinkle a drop or two
upon our souls, what would that be?”The
dwellers in Paradise answer, “God has forbidden
that to you. The seed of this bliss came from our
earlier deeds. Since you did not sow and cultivate
with faith, sincerity and good works, what should
you gather here? Even if out of generosity we
should share with you, since it is not your reward
it would burn your throats and stick in your gullets.”
A crowd of hypocrites and strangers came
into the presence of Mohammed. They began to
talk about mysteries and praised the Prophet.
Mohammed turned to his companions and said,
“Cover up your vessels.” He meant, “Conceal
wisdom from strangers, and in their presence stop
up your mouths and tongues, for they are mice
and not worthy of this wisdom and grace.”The
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Amir who has just left our company—though he
did not understand in detail what we were saying,
yet he realizes in general that we were calling him
to God. I take the wagging of his head, his smile
of affection and his flush of passion as a sign of
his understanding. If people from the country
come into the city and hear the call to prayer,
though they do not know in detail the meaning of
the call, still they understand its purpose.16Rumi
said: Whoever is loved is beautiful, but this doesn’t
mean that whoever is beautiful is loved.”There
are girls more beautiful than Laila,” they used to
tell Majnun. “Let us bring some to you.””I do not
love Laila for her form,” Majnun would reply.
“Laila is like a cup in my hand. I drink wine from
that cup. I am in love with that wine. You only
have eyes for the goblet and do not know the
wine. A golden goblet studded with precious
stones, but containing only vinegar, what use is
that to me? An old broken gourd with wine is better
in my eyes than a hundred goblets of gold.”A
person must be moved with passion and yearning
for them to tell the wine from the cup. This is the
same as someone who is hungry, who hasn’t eaten
for ten days, and another who has eaten five times
a day. Both see a loaf of bread. The full one sees
only more food, but the hungry person sees life,
itself. To the hungry, this bread is a goblet, and
the life it brings is wine. Such wine cannot be
known except through hunger and yearning.
Acquire this appetite so you will not only see the
appearances of form, but will find the Beloved
everywhere.
The forms of this world are cups. Science, art
and knowledge are inscriptions upon the cup.
When the cup is broken, those inscriptions disappear.
Therefore, those who drink the wine see
“the eternal reality, the deeds of holiness...”
Anyone asking a question must first come to
the awareness that their knowledge is incomplete,
and secondly that there is wisdom they know
nothing about. Hence, the saying, “Asking is half
of knowing.”
But there must always be one in this world
who knows. Everyone looks to someone, because
ultimately we are looking for God. But there must
always be one who can distinguish those who are
hitting the mark from those who have been struck
by the arrow of someone else’s bow.
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If you hear words coming through a wall, you
know that wall isn’t speaking and that voice
belongs to someone else. The saints are like this.
They have died before death, and have become
like doors and walls. Not even a hair’s tip of separate
existence remains in them. In the hands of
Reality, they are shields—but the shield doesn’t
move under its own power. Thus the saints say, “I
am the Truth,” meaning, “I am nothing at all, I
move by the Hand of God.” Look upon such
shields as God. Do not take up violence against
God. Striking blows against such shields are just
like declaring war against God, Itself.
Every saint is God’s proof. The rank and station
of men and women is determined by how
they treat the saint. If they are hostile to the saint,
they are acting hostile against God. If they
befriend the saint, they have made friendship with
God.
“Whoever has seen them has seen Me.
Whoever finds them has found Me.”
God’s saints are familiar with the secrets of His
refuge. They have become intimate with the
Divine Mysteries that “none but the purified shall
touch.” If they turn their backs on the tomb of a
great saint, it is not out of disobedience or neglect.
They have turned their faces toward that saint’s
essence, for these words spoken here are their
essence. There is no harm in turning away from
the body to face the soul.
It is a custom of mine that I want no heart to
become distressed through me. During our meetings,
sometimes a great multitude thrust themselves
upon me and some of my friends try to fend
them off. That disturbs me. I have said a hundred
times, “Say nothing on my account. I am content
with that.” I care to such a degree that when such
friends come to me, I dread the thought of boring
them, so I speak poetry for their enjoyment.
Otherwise, what do I care about poetry? By God,
I care nothing for poetry. There is nothing worse
in my eyes. To me, it is like the cook who plunges
his hand into tripe, cleaning it out for the sake of
a guest’s appetite.
A merchant searches to see what products are
needed in their city, and what the people want to
buy. Then they buy and sell those goods and services,
even if they are the lowest of things in their
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FIHI MA FIHI V 133
eyes. I have studied many sciences and taken
pains to offer fine, rare and precious things to the
scholars and researchers, the clever ones and the
deep thinkers who come to me. God has willed
this. He gathered to me all those sciences, and
assembled here all those pains, so I would become
occupied with this work. What can I do? In my
own country, and amongst my own people, there
is nothing more shameful than poetry. If I had
remained there, I would have lived in harmony
with their temperament. I would have practiced
what they love, such as giving lectures, composing
books and preaching.
The Amir said: “The root of the matter is
action.”
Rumi said: Where are such people of action, so
that I can teach them action? But now look how
you cock your ears, seeking after words instead of
action. If I were to stop speaking now, you would
become upset. Become a seeker of action, so that
I can show you action!
I am looking all over the world for students of
action so that I can teach action. I am looking all
over the world for anyone who knows action, but
I find no student of action—only of words, and so
I occupy myself with words. What do you know
of action? Action is only known through action.
There is not one traveler upon this road—it is
empty—so how will anyone see if we are on the
true path of action?
After all, prayer and fasting are not action;
these are forms of action. Action is an inward
reality. From the time of Adam to the time of
Mohammed, prayer and fasting have changed
their form, but action is still the same.
Action is not what people think it is. People
believe action is this outward show. But if a hypocrite
performs only the form of action, such as
prayer or fasting, it gains them nothing, since the
sincere desire for true action was not present.
The secret principle of all things is speech and
words. You do not yet know the true knowledge
of speech and words, therefore you consider them
unimportant. However, speech is fruit from the
tree of action, for words are born of action. God
created the world by a word.
You may have faith in your heart, but unless
you share it through words, it is worth nothing.
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FIHI MA FIHI V 135
When you say, “In this present age words are of
no account,” you say this with words, do you
not? If words are of no account, then why do we
hear you say this with words?
Someone asked: “When we do a good deed, if
we have hopes and expectations of a good reward
from God, does that harm us?”
Rumi answered: By God, we must always have
hope. Faith, itself, consists of fear and hope.
Someone once asked me, “Hope itself is good, but
what is this fear?” I said, “Show me a fear without
hope, or a hope without fear. The two are
inseparable.” For example, a farmer plants
wheat. Naturally he hopes that wheat will grow.
At the same time he is afraid some blight or
drought may destroy it. So, there is no hope without
fear, or fear without hope.
Now, when we hope expectantly for a reward,
we will surely work with greater effort.
Expectation becomes our wings, and the stronger
our wings the farther the flight. If, on the other
hand we lose hope, we become lazy and of no
value to anyone. A sick person will take bitter
medicine and give up ten sweet pleasures, but if
they have no hope for health, why would they
endure this?
We are a mixture of animal and speech. If we
do not speak outwardly, we still speak inwardly—
we are constantly speaking. We are like a river in
which clay is mixed; the pure water is our speech,
while the clay is our animality. But the clay in us
is an accident. Do you not see how those pieces of
clay have crumbled and rotted away, while
mankind’s speech, poetry and sciences, both bad
and good have remained?
The ‘man or woman of heart’ is a universe.
When you have seen them, you have seen all. “All
game is in the belly of the wild ass.” All creatures
in this world are contained in the man and
woman of heart.
Good and evil, the dervishes may be,
Whoever is not so, no dervishes are they.
Once you have seen one who is the whole,
surely you have seen the whole world. Whoever
you see after is a mere repetition. That person’s
speech is contained in the words of the whole.
Once you have heard their words, every word you
hear thereafter is an echo.
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FIHI MA FIHI V 137
Whoever beholds such a one, in any place,
Has seen all men and women, all time and
space.
As the poet says:
You are the true transcription
Of the Archetype Divine.
A glass through which the Sun’s
Own loveliness does shine.
Within, or without,
Wherever it may lie,
Accept every desire,
And declare, “‘Tis I!”
The Amir of Rum said: “The unbelievers used to
worship and bow down to idols. Now we are
doing the selfsame thing. We go and bow down
and wait upon the Mongols, and yet we consider
ourselves Muslims. We have many other idols in
our heart too, such as greed, passion, temper,
envy, and we are obedient to all of them. So we
act in the very same way as the unbelievers, both
outwardly and inwardly, and we consider ourselves
Muslims!”
Rumi answered: But here is something different;
it enters your thoughts that this conduct is
evil and utterly detestable. The eye of your heart
has seen something incomparably greater that
shows up this behavior as vile and hideous.
Brackish water shows its brackishness to one who
has tasted sweet water, and things are made clear
by their opposites.
So God has implanted in Soul the light of faith
to see these things as hideous. Confronted by
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FIHI MA FIHI V 139
beauty, this appears ugly. Yet others are not
affected this way, they are perfectly happy in their
existing state, saying, “This is absolutely fine.”
God will grant you your heart’s desire—where
your ambition is, that will be yours. “The bird
flies with its wings, the believers fly with their
aspiration.”
There are three kinds of creatures. First there
are angels, who are pure spiritual conscience.
Worship, service and the remembrance of God are
their nature and their food. They eat and live
upon that essence. Like fish in the water, their
mattress and pillow are the water. Angels are pure
and free of lust, so what favor do they gain by not
yielding to such desires? Since they are free of
these things, they have no struggle against them.
If they obey God’s will it is not counted as obedience,
for this is their nature, and they cannot be
otherwise.
Second are the beasts who are pure sensuality,
having no spiritual conscience to restrain them.
They too are under no burden of obligation.
Lastly, there remains the poor human being,
who is a compound of spiritual conscience and
sensuality. We are half angel, half beast. Half
snake, half fish. The fish draws us toward water,
the snake toward the earth. We are forever in battle.
If our spiritual conscience overcomes our sensuality,
we are higher than the angels. If our sensuality
overcomes our spiritual conscience, we are
lower than the beasts.
“The angel is saved through knowledge,
The animal—through ignorance.
Between the two struggle the people of this world.”
Now, some have followed their spiritual conscience
so faithfully that they have become entirely
angels and pure Light. They are the prophets
and the saints. They are freed of fear and hope. In
some, lust has overcome their spiritual conscience
so entirely that they have taken on the status of
animals. Some are still struggling. These last are
the people who feel within themselves an agony
and anguish, a sorrow and a longing. They are
not satisfied with their lives. These are the believers.
The saints are waiting to bring them to their
own station, to make them like themselves, just as
the satans, too, are waiting to draw them to the
lowest of the low.
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“When God’s help comes through victory,
And you see people
Submitting to His Will in throngs,
Then fill yourself with the presence of the Lord,
And seek His forgiveness;
For God turns to men and women again.”
Now, commentators offer an outward interpretation
to the above Sura, from the Koran, as
follows: Mohammed had the dream, “I will make
all the world Muslims and bring them to the path
of God.” When he saw his death approaching he
cried, “Ah, didn’t I come into this life to call the
people to God?” God answered, “Do not grieve.
In that very hour when you pass away, provinces
and cities which you would conquer by armies
and by the sword I will convert to obedience and
to the faith, every one of them without armies.
The sign of this will come at the end when you are
dying, you will see people entering in throngs and
becoming Muslims. When this sign comes, know
that the time for your departure has arrived. Then
give praise, and seek forgiveness.”
However, there is an inward meaning to this
Sura as well: People think they can drive away
evil by great effort and striving. After struggling
and exhausting all their powers and means, they
fall into despair. Then God says to them: “You
thought you could achieve this goal through your
own power, action and work. This is the law I
have laid down: Whatever you possess, spend it in
Our name. Then Our grace will supervene.
“You must journey upon this infinite road with
the feeble hands and feet that you possess. We
know well that with feet so feeble you can never
accomplish this journey. Indeed, in a hundred
thousand years you will not be able to accomplish
a single stage of this journey. But even as you collapse
and fall, with no strength left to struggle farther,
then Our loving breath will carry you on.
Even a child, so long as it is a suckling, is carried
in the arms, but when it is grown it is set free to
walk. Now in this hour when your powers have
left you, when your own means fail, behold Our
graces, Our gifts and Our love. You will not witness
even an atom of such blessings after a hundred
thousand strivings.”
I do not love or bow down to the Amir on
account of worldly considerations, for his rank,
learning or achievements. Others love him for
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FIHI MA FIHI V 143
those reasons, not seeing the Amir’s face, but only
his back. The Amir is like a mirror with precious
pearls on its back, with gold inlaid. Those who
love gold and pearls look at the back of the mirror,
but those who love life always look upon the
mirror, and love the mirror for itself. They do not
grow weary of the fair beauty they see. But those
with a hideous face full of blemishes see in the
mirror only ugliness. They quickly turn the mirror
and look for those precious stones. Yet what
harm is done to the face of the mirror if its back
is studded with a thousand kinds of engravings
and precious stones?
“Things are made clear by their opposite.”
It is impossible to know anything without its
opposite, yet God has no opposite. “I was a hidden
treasure,” God says, “and I wanted to be
known.” So It created this world of darkness for
Its Light to become visible. So, too, It manifested
the prophets and the saints, saying, “Go forth
with My Attributes into My creation.” They are
the theater for the Light of God, where friend may
be disclosed from foe, and brother from stranger.
The struggles of the saints reveals God’s opposite,
even though It has none. Through persecution
and opposition, the saints become known and
admired.
“With their mouths, the unbelievers try to extinguish the
Light of God.
But God will perfect His Light through their adversity.”
God chastises some people through wealth,
gold and rulership, for Soul flees from such possessions.
Shams saw a prince riding in Arabia, on
his brow the illumination of the prophets and
saints. Shams said, “Glory be to God who chastises
His servants by means of affluence!”
144 V DISCOURSES OF RUMI
Someone said: “Ibn Muqri recites the Koran correctly.”
Rumi said: Yes, he recites the form of the
Koran correctly, but he has no knowledge of its
meaning. This is proven by the fact that when he
is questioned for its meaning, he cannot answer.
He recites blindly. He is like a man who holds an
old, tattered sable in his hand; he is offered a
newer, finer sable, but he refuses it. So we can see
that he doesn’t know what sable really is.
Someone told him that this is sable, and he blindly
accepted it.
It is like children playing with walnuts. Offer
them the nut itself, or the oil of the walnut, and
they will refuse it, saying, “The walnut is what we
spin on the table. This doesn’t spin.” God’s treasuries
are many, and God’s sciences are many. If
he recites this Koran with knowledge, why does
he reject the other eternal Koran?
I once explained to a Koran-teacher: The
Koran says, “If the sea were ink for the Words of
discourse 18
my Lord, the sea would be spent before the Words
of my Lord are spent.” Now, with fifty drams of
ink one can copy the whole of this Koran.
Therefore, the Koran is only a symbol of God’s
knowledge and all the knowledge belonging to
God.
An apothecary puts a pinch of medicine in a
piece of paper. You wouldn’t say, “The whole of
the apothecary’s shop is in this paper.” That
would be foolishness. After all, in the time of
Moses and Jesus and the other prophets, the
Koran existed. God’s speech existed, but it was
not in Arabic. I explained this to the Koranteacher
in this way, but I could see that it made no
impression so I let him go.
It is related that during the time of the Prophet
anyone who knew one Sura by heart, or half a
Sura, was called a great person and pointed out,
“They have a Sura by heart,” since in that day
they devoured the Koran. To devour a loaf of
bread, or two loafs, is certainly a great accomplishment.
But people who put bread in their
mouths without chewing it and spit it out again
can devour thousands of tons in that way.
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FIHI MA FIHI V 147
Still this is a good thing. God has sealed the
eyes of some people so they can cultivate this present
world. If no one were blind to the other
world, this world would be empty. It is this blindness
that gives rise to culture and progress.
Consider children, how they grow up recklessly
and become tall, but when their judgement reaches
maturity they stop growing. So the cause and
reason for civilization is blindness, and the cause
of devastation is sight.
What I am saying is motivated by one of two
things: Either I speak out of envy, or I speak with
compassion. God forbid that it should be envy! It
is stupid to envy even those who are worthy of
envy, then how can we envy one who is not worthy?
No, I speak out of great compassion and
mercy, for I wish to draw you into the true meaning.
A story is told of a man on the way to the pilgrimage
who collapsed in the desert, overcome by
thirst. Suddenly he saw in the distance a small and
tattered tent. He struggled there, and seeing a
young girl, he cried aloud, “I am a guest! I have
attained my goal!”
Saying this, he sat down and asked for water.
She brought him water that was hotter than fire
and more brackish than salt, and from lip to
throat it burned every part. The man, out of
extreme compassion, addressed the woman.
“I am indebted to you for what relief you have
given me,” he said. “Compassion has welled up
within me. Listen to what I say to you. Behold,
Baghdad is nearby, and Kufa and Wasit and the
rest. There you will find plenty of sweet, cool
water, foods of various kinds, baths, luxuries, rich
delights.” And he described the pleasures of those
cities.
A moment later the Bedouin came on the scene
who was the woman’s husband. He had caught a
few brace of desert rats, which he told the woman
to cook. They offered some to the guest, who
being in such desperate straits ate them. After
that, in the middle of the night, the guest slept
outside the tent. The woman spoke to her husband.
“Did you hear all the stories our guest had to
tell?” And she repeated to her husband the guest’s
entire account.
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FIHI MA FIHI V 149
“Don’t listen to these things,” the Bedouin
answered. “There are many envious people in the
world. When they see others living a life of ease
and abundance, they envy them and want to send
them wandering away to deprive them of their
fortune.”
So it is with many people. When anyone out of
pure compassion offers them a piece of advice,
they see it as envy. But if there are roots in a person,
in the end they will turn their face to the
truth. If, since the day of the Primordial Covenant
a drop has been sprinkled upon them, in the end
that drop will deliver them out of all confusion
and misery. Come then! How long will you be
remote from us and estranged? How long locked
up in confusion and sadness? And what should
we say to people who have never heard stories
like this before, even from their own teacher?
Since greatness never graced their forebears,
They cannot bear to hear the great ones
praised.
Although facing the truth is not attractive at
first, the longer one follows it the sweeter it
becomes. This is the opposite of outward forms
that charm us at first, but the longer you sit with
them thinking they are all there is, the colder you
become. What is the form of the Koran compared
with its meaning? Examine a man or woman:
what is their form compared with their meaning?
If the sense of that person departs, we wouldn’t
let them loose in our house for one moment.
Our Master, Shams, once told this story: A
great caravan was on its way to a distant city.
Along the way they found a certain place with no
sign of habitation or water. Suddenly they came
upon a well with no bucket. So they took a kettle
and some rope and lowered this kettle into the
well. They drew up the rope, but the kettle broke
away. They sent down another, but it broke away
too. After that they tied people from the caravan
with a rope and lowered them down into the well,
but they disappeared as well.
Now there was a man of great heart present.
He said, “I will go down.” They lowered him
down. He was nearly to the bottom of the well
when a terrible black creature suddenly appeared.
“I will never escape,” the man thought. “But at
least let me keep my wits about me and not lose my
senses, so that I can see what is going to happen.”
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FIHI MA FIHI V 151
“Don’t make a long story of it,” the black creature
said. “You’re my prisoner. You won’t escape
unless you give me the right answer. Nothing else
will save you.”
“Ask on,” said the man.
“Where is the best place?” the creature asked.
“I am a prisoner and helpless,” the man
reflected. “If I say Baghdad or some other place, I
might insult his own hometown.” Then he spoke
aloud, “The best place to live is wherever we feel
at home. If that is in the bowels of the earth, then
that’s the best place. If it’s in a mouse hole, then
that’s the best place.”
“Well said, well said!” cried the creature.
“You’ve escaped. You’re one in a million. Now
I’ve let you go, and set free the others on account
of your blessing. From this time forward I’ll shed
no more blood. I bestow this gift on all the people
of the world out of love for you.”
Then he gave the people of the caravan water
to satisfy their needs.
The purpose of this story is contained in its
inner meaning. We can tell the same meaning in
another form, but the lovers of traditional forms
will accept this version. It is difficult to speak with
them. If we speak these very same words in another
parable they will not listen.
152 V DISCOURSES OF RUMI
Rumi said: Someone said to Taj al-Din Quba’i,
“These doctors of divinity live amongst us and
deprive the people of their religious beliefs.” Taj
al-Din Quba’i answered, “They do not live
amongst us and take away our beliefs. God forbid
they could ever be one of us. If you put a golden
collar on a dog, do you call it a hunting dog
because of that collar? The quality of being a
hunting dog is something specific in the animal,
whether it wears a collar of gold or wool.”
No one becomes a scholar by virtue of robe
and turban. Scholarship is a virtue in its very
essence, and whether that virtue is clothed in
tunic or overcoat, it makes no difference.
Thus, in Mohammed’s time, the hypocrites
used to put on prayer-robes to lure Muslims away
from the Faith. How could they lead astray
Muslims until they dressed up as Muslims, themselves?
If a Christian or a Jew criticized Islam,
who would listen to them?
discourse 19
“Woe to those that pray
Yet do not listen to their own prayers,
Or to those who make big displays
But for others have no care.”
But these are merely words. You have caught
that Light but still have not found humanity. Seek
humanity: that is your true purpose. The rest is
mere long-windedness. When words are elaborately
decorated, their purpose is forgotten.
A certain greengrocer was in love with a
woman, and he sent messages by the lady’s maid.
“I am like this, I am like that. I am in love, I am
on fire. I find no peace. I am cruelly treated. I was
like this yesterday. Last night such and such happened
to me.” And he recited long, long stories.
The maid came into the lady’s presence and
addressed her as follows:
“The greengrocer sends you greetings and says,
‘Come, so that I may do this and that to you.’”
“So coldly?” the lady asked.
“He spoke at great length,” answered the
maid. “But that was his purpose.”
The purpose is the root of the matter; the rest
is merely a headache.
154 V DISCOURSES OF RUMI
Rumi said: Night and day you are at war,
attempting to reform the character of the opposite
sex, to cleanse their impurity and to correct their
faults. It is better to cleanse yourself through them
than trying to cleanse them through yourself.
Reform yourself by means of them. Go to them
and accept whatever they may say, even if from
your viewpoint their words sound absurd or
unfair.
It was on account of this truth that
Mohammed said, “There is no monkhood in
Islam.” The way of monks is solitude, dwelling in
mountains, men not living with women, and giving
up the world. God showed the Prophet a
straight and hidden way. What is that way?
Marriage, so that we can endure the trials of living
with the opposite sex, to listen to their
demands, for them to ride roughshod over us, and
so in this way to refine our own character.
discourse 20
By enduring and putting up with the tyranny of
your spouse it is as though you rub off your own
impurity on them. Your character becomes good
through forbearance; their character becomes bad
through domineering and aggression. Once you
have realized this, make yourself clean. Know
that they are like a garment; in them you can
cleanse your own impurities and become clean
yourself.
Rid yourself of pride, envy and jealousy, until
you experience pleasure in struggling and enduring.
Through their demands discover spiritual joy.
After that, you will endure such struggles, and
you will not run from oppression, since you will
see the advantages they bring to you.
It is related that Mohammed returned with his
Companions from a raid, one night. He told them
to beat the drum saying, “Tonight we will sleep at
the gate of the city, and enter tomorrow.” They
asked, “Messenger of God, why don’t we return
to our homes immediately?” He said, “You might
see your wives in bed with strange men. You
would be hurt, and a commotion would arise.”
One of the Companions did not hear; he entered
and found his wife with a stranger.
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The way of the Prophet is this: It is necessary
to endure pain to help rid ourselves of selfishness,
jealousy and pride. To experience the pain of our
spouses’ extravagant desires, the pain of unfair
burdens, and a hundred thousand other pains
beyond all bounds, so the spiritual path can
become clear. The way of Jesus was wrestling
with solitude and not gratifying lust. The way of
Mohammed is to endure the oppression and agonies
inflicted by men and women upon each other.
If you cannot go by the Mohammedan way, at
least go by the way of Jesus, so you will not
remain completely outside the spiritual path.
If you have the serenity to endure a hundred
buffets, seeing the fruits and harvest that come
through them, or believing in your hidden heart,
“Though in this hour I see no harvest of these sufferings,
in the end I will reach the treasures,” you
will reach the treasuries, yes, and more than you
ever desired and hoped.
If these words have no effect upon you now,
after a while when you become maturer they will
leave a great impression. This is the difference
between talking with your spouse and a friend.
When you speak to your mate, they remain the
same and will not change their ways due to anything
you say. You words have no affect on them,
indeed they become more determined.
For instance, take a loaf of bread, put it under
your arm, and deny it to others, saying, “I will
not give this to anyone. Give it? Why, I won’t even
show it.” Even if that loaf had been cast away and
the dogs would not eat it because bread is so plentiful
and cheap—yet the moment you begin to
refuse it, everybody is after it and sets their hearts
on it, pleading and protesting, “We want to see
that bread which you refuse and keep hidden.”
Especially if you keep it hidden for a year, insisting
emphatically that you will neither give it away
nor show it, their eagerness for the loaf passes all
bounds, since, “People are passionate for whatever
they are denied.”
The more you tell your spouse, “Keep yourself
hidden,” the greater their itch to flirt and show
themselves. And through their being hidden, the
opposite sex becomes more eager for them. So
there you sit in the middle, augmenting eagerness
on both sides, and you think of yourself as a
reformer! Why, that is the very essence of corrup-
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tion. If they have in them the natural quality not
to do evil, whether you prevent them or not, they
will proceed according to their good temperament
and pure constitution. So rest assured, and don’t
worry. If they are the opposite, they will still go
their own way; trying to stop them in reality does
nothing but increase their eagerness.
Someone said: “We heard some men saying,
‘We saw Shams-i-Tabriz, we really saw him.’”
Rumi said: Fools, where did they see him?
Would you listen to someone who cannot see a
camel on the roof of their own house, if they
come along and say, “I found a needle in the field
and threaded it.” That is a fine story, like the person
who said, “Two things make me laugh—a
black person painting their nails black, and a
blind person putting their head out of the window.”
They are exactly like that. Blind inwardly,
they put their heads out of the window of the
physical body. What can they see? What does
their approval or disapproval amount to?
First it is necessary to acquire inner sight. Then
one can see. But even with sight, how can one see
what is hidden? In this world there are saints who
have achieved union, and other saints beyond
those, called the Veiled Ones of God. The former
saints are ever pleading humbly, “Oh Lord God,
show us one of Thy Veiled Ones.” Now as for
those tavern-haunting braggarts, of course they
cannot reach or see what their own boasting
hides. How can one see the Veiled Ones of God,
or know them without their will?
It is not an easy matter. Even the spiritual
angels, who are not tempted by either wealth nor
rank, who have no veil to separate them, whose
food is the pure Light and Beauty of God, whose
eyes—keen and farsighted—see only pure Love,
these spiritual angels swing between favor and
disfavor toward the people of this world. This is
so that, during our moments of disgrace we might
tremble and ask, “What have I become? What do
I know?” And if some light should shine upon us
and we should be graced by a certain joy, we
might give thanks a thousandfold to God, saying,
“How am I worthy of this?”
Submitting yourself in this way, you can experience
great joy even from a word or a glimpse of
Shams. For the sail on the ship of our being is our
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ideal. When there is a sail, the wind can carry us
to mighty places. When there is no sail, all words
are merely wind.
The lover-beloved relationship is very pleasant;
everything between the two is sheer informality.
All formalities are for the sake of others. I would
give a great exposition of these words, but the
hour is late, and one must labor very hard and dig
out rivers to reach the pool of the heart. In this
matter proofs cannot work. Here one must be a
seeker of love, not an observer.
It might seem that I exaggerate the relationship
of the lover, but this is not true. In fact, I see that
disciples should give up their own purpose for the
sake of their master’s form.
Thou whose form is fairer far
Than a thousand purposes are.
Every disciple who comes to the master must
first abandon his or her own purpose, being in
need of the master.
Baha al-Din asked the question: “Surely they
shouldn’t abandon their own purpose for the sake
of the master’s form, but for the sake of the master’s
purpose?”
Rumi answered: That isn’t possible. If this
were so, then both would be masters. Now you
must struggle to find the inward light, to escape
and be secure from this fire of confusions. When
you acquire such an inward light, all the desires of
this world such as rank, honor, and title pass
across your inward heart like a lightning-flash.
With worldlings, the rewards of the unseen world
such as the presence of God and yearning for the
world of the saints’ shine upon their hearts for a
moment and then pass like a lightning-flash.
Therefore it is rank, honor and title they really
seek. However, the people of God become wholly
God’s, their faces are turned to God. They are
preoccupied with and absorbed in God. Worldly
passions, like the lust of an impotent man, show
briefly but do not take root and quickly pass
away.
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Rumi said: Sharif Paysukhta has written:
God dispenses Its grace,
Indifferent to time and space,
Itself, the Spirit of the Whole
Is independent of our soul.
No matter what our ranging thought
Within its compass may be brought,
We find adoration for the Lord,
For It who need not be adored.
These words are shameful; they neither honor
God, nor do they honor mankind. Oh poet, what
joy does it give you that God should be supremely
independent of you? This is not the language of
friends; this is the language of enemies. The
enemy indeed says, “I am indifferent to you and
do not care.”
Now consider the loyal and ardent lover of
God who, when in a state of ecstatic joy, addresses
that Beloved, “You are independent of me!”
They would be like a stoker of the fires at the
baths, saying, “The Sultan is indifferent and independent
of me, a mere stoker. Indeed, the Sultan
discourse 21
is indifferent to all stokers.” What joy would such
a miserable stoker feel with the thought that the
king was indifferent to them? No, the right words
for the stoker to speak would be: “I was on the
roof of the baths. The Sultan passed by. I hailed
him. He looked well at me and then passed me by,
still looking at me.” Such words might well give
joy to that stoker. As for saying, “The king is
indifferent to stokers,” what sort of praise for the
king is that, and what joy can it give the stoker?
No matter what our ranging thought
Within its compass may be brought,
Oh poet, what indeed will pass within the compass
of your thought when you find that it is people
who are independent of you, they are bored of
your thoughts and run away? God’s independence
is certain, oh poet, but if you have a spiritual state
worth anything at all, He will not be independent
of you. God’s closeness to you establishes the
degree of your greatness.
Sheikh Mahalla used to say, “First see, then
converse. Everyone sees the Sultan, but it is his
favorite who enjoys his conversation.” This too is
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backwards. Moses enjoyed the speech of God.
With God’s word he was filled. It was only afterwards
he sought to see. Moses’ station was the
station of speech; the station of Mohammed was
the station of seeing. How then can the Sheikh’s
statement be correct?
Someone said to Shams-i-Tabriz, “I have established
the existence of God by a categorical
proof.” The following morning our Master,
Shams, said, “Last night the angels came down
and blessed that man, saying, ‘Praise be to God,
he has established the existence of our God! God
give him long life! He has done no harm to the
honor of men and women!’”
Oh poet, God exists. It needs no proof. If you
do anything at all, establish yourself in some rank
and station before Him. Otherwise, how can you
share in His grace?
Nothing exists that does not proclaim His
praise.
Lawyers are clever, a hundred per cent competent
in their own specialty. But between them and
the spiritual world, a wall has been built to preserve
their empire of logic and proofs. If that wall
did not exist as a veil for them, no one would consult
them and their work would disappear.
This is like what Shams said, “The other world
is like a sea, and this world is foam from that sea.
God desired to keep this foam in order. Therefore,
He set certain people with their backs to the sea
so this foam would not fall into ruin.”
A tent was pitched for a king, and he kept certain
people busy constructing this tent. One says,
“If I don’t make the tent-ropes how will the tent
stand up?” Another says, “If I don’t make the
pegs, where will they tie the ropes?” Still, everybody
knows these people are servants of the king.
If the weavers gave up weaving and sought to be
viziers, the whole world would be naked and
bare. So, they were given a joy for their craft.
They are content with weaving. Therefore people
were created to keep the world of foam in order,
and this world was created for the Saint.
God bestows contentment and happiness on
everyone in the work that is theirs, so that even if
their life should last a hundred thousand years
they would still find love for their work. Every
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day the love for their craft becomes greater, and
subtle skills are born to them, which bring them
infinite joy and pleasure.
Nothing exists that does not proclaim His
praise.
There is one praise for the rope-maker, another
for the carpenter who makes the tent-poles,
another for the maker of the tent-pins, another
for the weaver who weaves the cloth for the tent,
another for the saints for whom the tent is made.
Now these seekers who come to us, wanting
some time with us, if we say nothing they are disgusted
and hurt. Yet if we say something it must
be beneficial to their level of attainment. So we
approach cautiously, and they leave, criticizing us,
saying, “They are holding back what they know.
They are hiding from us and running away.”
How should the fire run away from the cook
pot? It cannot. The truth is that when we see that
the vessel is weak, we draw back some distance to
protect it. So, it is really the pot that runs away.
Our running away is their running away. We are
a mirror. If they move to run away, it appears to
them in us. We run away for their sake. In a mirror
people see themselves. If they see us as weary,
that weariness is theirs and a reflection of their
weakness. There is no room here for weariness;
what use do we have for weariness?
In the baths, once, I showed great submission
to Sheikh Salah al-Din, and Sheikh Salah al-Din
showed great submission to me. Confronted by
his submission, I protested. I thought to myself,
“You are carrying submission too far. Submission
is better by degrees: First you kiss the hand, then
the foot. Little by little you come to a point where
it does not stand out as a display, and in return
they are moved by your sincerity. They are not
chased away, or forced into matching courtesy
with courtesy, when you gradually show your
affection.”
We must act this same way with friends and
enemies, doing things gradually. For instance,
with an enemy, first we offer them our advice, little
by little. If they do not listen, we show some
force. If they do not heed that, then we drive them
away.
The work of the world proceeds in this way.
Don’t you see the peace and friendliness of
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spring? In the beginning it shows us warmth little
by little, then it displays its graces more and more.
Look at the trees, how little by little they advance.
First a smile, then they show their trappings of
leaves and fruit, like dervishes and Sufis offering
their hearts, giving away all that they possess.
Men and women run away from every goal,
whether worldly or spiritual, because they overestimate
the initial task. The proper way is a bit at
a time. It is the same if someone eats too much;
they should diminish it daily by a small bit, gradually.
In that way, before a year or two have
passed, they will have cut down what they eat by
half, reducing it in such a way that their body
does not notice. So it is with worship, withdrawing
into solitude, attending to the service of God,
and prayer. When a person enters upon the Way
of God, for a while their prayers will be short. But
after that, if they pray with their whole heart,
their prayers will go on and on without end.
Rumi said to Ibn Chavish: The root of the matter
is that you should guard against this backbiting
when talking about Sheikh Salah al-Din. Perhaps
this will remove these dark shadows and clouds
that surround you.
How can you defend yourself? People have left
their own country, their fathers and mothers, their
households, kinsfolk and families, and have journeyed
from Hind to Sind until their boots were
cut to shreds, in search of someone having the fragrance
of the other world. How many men and
women have died of sorrow, never succeeding nor
encountering such a person! As for you, you
know such a man here in your own house, and
you turn your back on him. This is a tragedy of
recklessness.
You used to tell me that Sheikh Salah al-Din
was the sheikh of sheikhs, a great and mighty
man. “From the day I entered his service,” you
said to me, “I never heard him once mention your
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name except as Rumi, Our Master, Our Lord,
Our Creator. I never heard him change this humble
expression for a single day.” It must be your
ambitions that have blinded you now. Today you
say that Salah al-Din is nothing.
What wrong has Sheikh Salah al-Din ever done
you? Only, when seeing you fall into a pit of selfdestruction,
he said to you, “Beware of the pit.”
He said this out of compassion for you, above all
others, but you reject that compassion. Now, you
find yourself in the midst of his wrath, and having
plunged into this wrath, how will you escape?
That is why he says, “Do not dwell in my house
of wrath and anger. Move into my house of grace
and compassion. Do something in praise of me,
and enter my house of love.” He says this because
then your heart will shed this darkness and fill
with light.
He says this to you for your own sake, for your
own good, but you charge his compassion to
some ulterior motive. What ulterior motive
should a man like that have towards you? Isn’t it
true that whenever you are filled to satisfaction
with drink or music, at the same time you are
pleased with every enemy, forgiving them all? In
that hour, unbeliever and believer become the
same in your eyes. Now Sheikh Salah al-Din is the
very ocean of this spiritual joy. All the seas of satisfaction
are within him. How could he hate anyone,
or have plans against them? And especially,
what designs would he have against such as
locusts and frogs? How can he, who possesses
such empire and grandeur, be compared with such
miserable creatures?
Is it not said that the Water of Life must be
found in darkness? This darkness surrounds the
saints, in whose being we find that Eternal Spring.
The Water of Life is hidden in their darkness. If
you turn from darkness and run away from it,
how can the Water of Life ever reach you?
Don’t you think if you wanted to learn sodomy
from sodomites, or harlotry from harlots, you
could never learn anything without putting up
with a thousand disagreeable things, beatings and
the thwarting of your desires? This is the only
way you could attain your goal. Then how do you
expect to attain the eternal and everlasting source
of life, which is the station of the prophets and
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saints, without anything disagreeable or without
any sacrifice? How could this ever happen?
What the Sheikh prescribes for you is the same
as what Sheikhs of old prescribed; that you give
up your wealth and position. Indeed, they used to
tell a disciple, “Leave your wife, that we may take
her,” and the disciples put up with that. As for
you, when he counsels you a simple thing, how is
it that you run away?
Do you not see how people are overcome by
blindness and ignorance when they fall in love,
how they will fawn and grovel and sacrifice all
their wealth, seeking somehow to win the one
they want with every effort. Night and day they
think of nothing else, never wearying of their pursuit,
yet wearying of everything else. Then, is the
love for the Sheikh and the love for God less than
this?
Yet, at the smallest word of advice and discipline
you object and desert the Sheikh. Hence it is
known that you are no lover or seeker. Were you
a true lover and seeker, you would put up with
many times what we have described. To your
heart, dung would become honey and sugar.
Rumi said: I would like to go to Tuqat, for that
region is warm. Although Antalya is warm, only
a few people there understand our language.
However, I was speaking there one day when a
party of unbelievers was present. In the middle of
my talk they began to weep with emotion and
show signs of ecstasy.
Someone asked: “What can they understand?
What do they know? Only one Muslim in a thousand
understands this kind of talk. What could an
unbeliever understand that would cause them to
weep?”
Rumi answered: It isn’t necessary for them to
understand the inner meaning of what we say.
The vessel of this meaning is the words themselves,
and this they do recognize. After all, everyone
knows of the Oneness of God, Creator and
Provider, the source of all life, where all things
return. When anyone hears these words, which
are a description and expression of God, a unidiscourse
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versal emotion and inner feeling stirs them, since
out of these words comes a scent of their Beloved
and their Quest.
The ways may vary, but the goal is one. Don’t
you see that there are many roads to the Kaaba?
For some the road is from Rum, for some from
Syria, others come from Persia or China or by sea
from India and Yemen. So if you consider the
roads, they are beyond counting, with infinite differences.
But when you consider the goal they are
all in accord with one desire.
The hearts of all are upon the Kaaba. The
hearts are one in their longing and love for the
Kaaba, and in that there is no room for separation.
That love is neither belief nor non-belief, for
it has nothing to do with the various roads. Once
we arrive, this argument and war and those differences
in the roads—this woman saying to that
man, “You are false, you are an infidel,” and that
man saying the same about her—once we arrive
at the Kaaba, we realize that such fighting is over
the roads only, and that the goal of all is the same.
For instance, a bowl’s spirit is in love with its
maker, and is a slave to those hands that fashion
it. Yet some see this bowl and say it should be
placed just as it is on the table. Some say the
inside of it should be washed first, some say the
outside of it must be cleaned. Some say all of it,
some say it must never be washed at all. The
diversity of opinion comes from the bowl’s many
uses, but as to the fact that the bowl certainly had
a creator who fashioned it, and that it did not
come into existence of itself, on this all agree.
Now, men and women in their inmost hearts
love God, seek Him, pray to Him and in all things
put their hope in Him, recognizing none but God
as the central reality ordering their affairs. This is
neither belief nor non-belief. Within the heart it
has no name. But when the water of innate truth
flows out of the heart towards the sluice of the
tongue and takes form, it acquires shape and
expression. There it is given the name of infidelity
or faith, good or evil. It is the same with plants
growing out of the earth. At first they have no
form at all. When they make their appearance in
this world their shoots all look fine, delicate and
white. But as they grow further they take on dif-
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ferent shapes and colors. Then we can call them
by name.
When believers and infidels sit together and say
nothing, they are one and the same. There is no
conflict of belief; the heart is a free world. Beliefs
are subtle things and cannot be judged. People
can judge by outward expression only, God is the
fashioner of our secret hearts. When God uncovers
your own beliefs to you, not a hundred thousand
efforts can hide them again. As for the saying
that God needs no instrument, do you not see
how He reveals those ideas and beliefs in you
without any instruments, without any pen, without
any pigment?
Those beliefs are like birds of the air, and wild
deer. Until you catch them, it is not allowable by
law to sell them. It is not in your power to sell a
bird on the wing, for how can you deliver it?
Since it is not in your power, it is not yours to sell.
Beliefs then, so long as they are in the heart, are
without name and token—they cannot be judged.
Would any judge say, “In your heart you made
this oath, you had this idea,” or “Come, swear
that in your heart you did not think this?” No
judge would say this, because no one can judge
the heart. Beliefs are birds of the air. Yet once they
have been expressed, then immediately they can
be judged as true or false, good or evil.
There is a world of bodies, a world of ideas, a
world of fantasies, a world of possibilities. God is
beyond all worlds, neither within them, nor without.
Consider then how God fashions our beliefs,
forming them without material means, without
pen or instrument. As for this fancy or that idea,
if you were to tear open the breast and search particle
by particle you would never find that
thought. Not in the blood, not in the vein, not
above, not below. Being immaterial and beyond
time and space, you would not find it outside the
breast, either.
Since God’s mark is so subtle as to be without
trace, consider how subtle and without trace is
God, Itself, the fashioner of all! Just as the physical
body is gross in relation to the inner meaning
of a person, so this subtle and invisible meaning is
a gross body and form next to God’s subtlety.
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All Muslims say, “We will enter the Holy
Mosque.” Some Muslims say, “If God wills, we
will enter.” Those who use the expression “if God
wills” are the true lovers of God. For the lover
does not think that they’re in charge of things and
a free agent. They recognize that the Beloved is in
charge. Hence they say, “If this Beloved wills, I
will enter.”
Now the literalists take the Holy Mosque to be
the Kaaba in Mecca. However, lovers and the
elect of God take the Holy Mosque to mean
union with God. So they say, “If God wills, we
will attain Him and be honored by the sight of
Him.” For God to say, “If God wills,” is very
rare. It is the tale of a stranger, and only a stranger
can understand such a tale. Yet God has certain
servants who are so well loved that He seeks them
out, showering them with blessings, and carrying
out all the actions of a lover. Just as the lover
would say, “If God wills, I will enter,” so God
says on behalf of that saint, “If God wills.”
If I were to try explaining this subtlety, even the
saints who have attained God would lose the
thread of the discourse. How then is it possible to
speak of such mysteries and mystic states to mortal
men and women? “The pen wrote this far, and
then it broke!” If someone can’t see the camel on
top of their own house, how can they see the
thread of one hair in the mouth of that camel?
To resume: Those lovers who say, “If God
wills,” such people are absorbed in God. There is
no room for anything else. Otherness does not
even exist. For until a person has surrendered
their image of a separate existence, the Holy
Mosque cannot be found. “There is none
dwelling in the house but God.”
“The vision He entrusted to His Messenger...”
This vision is the dream of lovers and true people
of God, but the true meaning is only revealed
in the other world. When you see in a dream that
you are riding on a horse, this means you will
attain your goal; yet what connection does the
horse have with a goal? If you dream that you
have been given coins of good currency, the meaning
is that you will hear true and good words
from a wise person; but how does a coin resemble
a word? If you dream that you have been hanged
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before a crowd, you will become the chief of a
people; but how do gallows resemble leadership?
In the same way, the affairs of this world are a
dream. “This world is the dream of a sleeper,”
and its meaning is seen quite differently in the
other world. There it is truly judged by the Divine
Interpreter, for to Him all things are revealed.
Like a gardener who enters an orchard and
looks at the trees, without even looking at the
fruit on the branches, they can judge this tree to
be a date, that one a fig, that a pomegranate, a
pear, or an apple. The true people of God know
the science of trees, therefore they need not wait
for the resurrection to see the interpretation of
life. Such a person sees beforehand what will be,
just as the gardener knows what fruit each branch
will surely yield.
All things in this world—wealth, a mate, and
clothing—are desired for something other than
themselves. Don’t you see that even with a hundred
thousand gold coins, if you were hungry, and
you could find no food, you could not feed yourself
on gold? A mate is for the sake of children,
companionship and to satisfy passion. Clothes are
to ward off the cold. In this way, all things are
desired for some other thing, each desire leading
to the next, all ending in the desire for God. He is
desired for His own sake, not for anything else.
Being beyond all, greater than all, nobler and subtler
than all, can God be desired for something
less? “So, He is the goal.” Within God is the completion
of all things, beyond Him there is no transcending.
The human mind churns with doubts and
difficulties. The mind can never be rid of these
except when it is truly in love—then all its doubts
and difficulties vanish. “Your love renders you
blind and deaf.”
For example, when Iblis would not bow down
before Adam and opposed God’s command, Iblis
said, “My essence is spirit, his essence is clay.
Why should the higher bow down before the
lower?” So God banished Iblis for opposing and
contending with Divine Law. Then Iblis argued,
“Alas, O Lord! You made all things. This was
Your temptation, and now You are cursing me
and banishing me.”
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Yet when Adam sinned, God expelled him
from Paradise, but Adam said nothing back. Then
God said to Adam, “O Adam, I have held you
responsible and punished you for the sin you
committed, why did you not argue with Me?
After all, you had a perfect case. You could have
said, ‘All things proceed from You and are made
by You. Whatever You desire in the world comes
to pass, and whatever You desire not will never
come to pass.’ You had a clear and valid case,
why did you not argue it?” Adam answered, “I
knew that well, Lord, but I did not forget courtesy
in Your presence. Because of my love for You I
could say nothing.” Thus Adam’s love stayed firm
and was not swayed.
This sacred Law of Love is a watering-place, a
fountainhead. It is just like the court of a king
where many study the king’s laws, his commandments
and prohibitions, his government—equal
justice for nobles and commons—etc. The edicts
of the king are without end, and on them the stability
of the country rests. But the status of
dervishes and Sufis is one of love for the king. Out
of their love springs conversation with the king,
and knowing his mind and heart. What is knowledge
of the king’s laws, compared with knowing
the ruler himself, his mind and heart? There is a
vast difference.
The Sufis and their various teachings are like a
school with many scholars. The headmaster pays
each scholar according to their qualifications, giving
to one ten, the next twenty, another thirty. We
too dispense our words according to everyone’s
degree and qualification. “Speaking to each
according to the degree of their understanding.”
184 V DISCOURSES OF RUMI
People build these sacred monuments for a particular
reason: either to display their generosity
for the sake of fame, or to gain a reward in heaven.
God should be the true object in honoring the
saints, their tombs and graves. The saints do not
need to be honored; they are an honor to themselves.
If a lamp desires to be placed up high, it wants
this for the sake of others, not for its own sake.
What does a lamp care whether it is high or low?
It is still a lamp shedding light. But a lamp wants
its light to reach others. The sun, if it were not in
the height of the heavens would still be the same
sun, only the world would fall into darkness. So
the sun attains its height not for its own sake, but
for the love of others. The saints, too, have gone
beyond such things as above and below, and the
worship of people.
Look at yourself when you are granted a fragment
of ecstasy and a flash of grace from the
discourse 24
other world. In that moment you see no above or
below, mastership or discipleship, or even yourself,
which is nearer to you than all else. These
things do not enter your mind. So how can the
saints, who are the windows and doorways for
that light and inspiration, be concerned about
above and below. Their heart is with God, and
God is independent of below and above. This
higher and lower belongs to us who have heads
and feet.
Mohammed said, “Do not hold me above
Jonah, son of Matthew, just because his ascension
was in the belly of a whale while my ascension
was in heaven upon the Throne.” He meant,
“God is neither above nor below. His presence is
the same, whether in heaven or in the belly of the
whale.”
There are many who have aims of their own,
while God has another goal. God desired the religion
of Mohammed to be honored, to be spread
abroad and to abide down through time.
Consider how many volumes have been written
about the Koran. Yet the aim of those writers was
to display their own virtuosity.
186 V DISCOURSES OF RUMI
FIHI MA FIHI V 187
Zamakhshari filled his Kashshaf with numerous
details of grammar, lexicography and rhetoric
to display his own learning—but it also fulfilled
God’s purpose, namely the exaltation of the religion
of Mohammed. So, all people do God’s
work, whether they know it or not. A man and
woman satisfy their lust with each other for the
sake of their own enjoyment, but the result is the
birth of a child. In the same way everyone works
for his or her own pleasure and enjoyment, and
this is the means of maintaining the order of the
world. In reality they are serving God, although
that is not their intent.
In the same way, people carve miniature
mosques at great expense to beautify their doors
and walls. Mecca is the true aim and object of
honor, and its honoring is all the greater since that
was not their true intention.
The greatness of the saints means nothing in
this world. By God, yes, they have an elevation
and greatness, but it is beyond space and time.
Suppose, for instance, you placed a silver dirham
on the roof, and a gold piece under it. Is not the
gold still superior in all circumstances? Similarly,
the chaff is above the sieve and the corn falls
under it; but how can the chaff be “above” the
corn? The superiority of the corn does not come
from its position in this world, but from its place
in that world of realities.
188 V DISCOURSES OF RUMI
Someone entered, and Rumi said: He is beloved
and humble, like a branch loaded with fruit—the
fruit weighs it down. A branch with no fruit raises
its head up high, like the white poplar, but
when that fruit exceeds all bounds, they put props
under the branch so it will not come down altogether.
Mohammed was extremely humble. All the
fruits of this world and the next were gathered
upon his branch, so of course he was humbler
than others. He said, “No one ever preceded the
Messenger of God in making a greeting.” No one
was able to precede the Prophet in offering greetings
because he outstripped all others in extreme
humility, and always made his greetings first.
Even if others had said their greeting first, still his
humility came before they could speak, for everyone
has learned the humble greeting from him
and hear his greeting within themselves before
they say a word.
discourse 25
Everything that ancient people or modern people
possess is a shadow of the Messenger of God.
Though a person’s shadow might cross the threshold
before them, still they are first. True, their
shadow may appear to lead, but this shadow
comes from them, and therefore always follows.
Our grace and humility are not made from this
present moment; these atoms existed in that
primeval time, from those particles and parts of
the first Messenger of God. In this hour they
become visible again, but this splendor and
brightness is ancient. Its original light was altogether
purer and brighter and more humble.
Some people see the beginnings of things, and
some look to the end. Those who look to the goal
are great and mighty, for although their eyes are
fixed on this moment; still they look into the
world beyond. But those who see the beginning
are greater. They say, “Why look to the end? If
wheat is sown in the beginning, barley will not
grow. If oats are planted, you cannot reap corn.”
So their gaze is fixed upon the beginning.
Still there are others even greater yet, who look
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FIHI MA FIHI V 191
at neither the beginnings nor the endings—the
start and finish do not enter their minds...they are
absorbed in God. However, those who are
absorbed in worldly things do not see the beginning
or end either, but in their case this is out of
extreme carelessness—they are the fodder of
fools.
So the Man and Woman of God are the foundation.
“But for you,
I would not have created the heavens.”
All that exists—honor and humility, authority
and high degree—all are our inheritance from
Them. All attributes are Their shadow, for everything
has manifested from Them.
Whatever this hand does it does as the shadow
of Spirit, for Spirit’s shadow directs it. In truth,
Spirit has no shadow, yet it has a shadow without
a shadow, just as ‘meaning’ has form without
form. If the shadow of Spirit were not over us, all
of our body would wither away—our hands
would no longer grasp, our feet would not know
how to walk, our eyes and ears would be lost in
confusion. Therefore, in reality all those actions
proceed from Spirit—the body is the instrument
of Spirit’s tongue.
In the same way, there is a great person, the
caliph of their time. They are like the Universal
Spirit, and the spirits of humankind are their
body. Whatever the people of this world do is in
their shadow. If the actions of some are in error, it
is because the Universal Spirit has lifted its shadow
from their heads. When someone goes mad
and acts crazy, everyone knows that reason has
left them, and no longer casts its shadow over
them. They are far away from the shadow and
shelter of Spirit.
Spirit is kin to the angel. Although angels have
definite form, while Spirit does not, both possess
the same nature and act exactly the same. We
should not be fooled by the form when they are
identical in every way. If you dissolved an angel’s
form, nothing would remain but Spirit. Therefore
angels are the embodiment of Spirit.
A bird can be molded of wax, complete with
feathers and wings, but still it is wax. If you melt
it, don’t you see that its head and feet, feathers
and wings all return to wax? Nothing else
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FIHI MA FIHI V 193
remains. From this we know that it is wax
embodied into a certain shape, but wax none the
less.
Similarly, ice is nothing but water. When you
melt it, only its form dissolves.
The human being was created like this: They
took the feathers of an angel, and tied them to the
tail of an ass, in hopes that the ass—from the
radiance and companionship of the angel—might
become an angel, too. So what is so wonderful if
this ass became a human? God is able to do all
things.
When a child is first born, it is worse than an
ass, sticking its hands in filth and then into its
mouth to lick. The mother must spank the baby
to stop it. The ass at least has some sort of discrimination;
when it urinates, it opens its legs so
the urine will not trickle on them. Yet the child,
who is worse than an ass, God raises into a man
or woman. If God should turn the ass into a
human, what is so astounding in that? With God,
nothing is a cause for astonishment.
At the resurrection, all parts of a person will
speak. The philosophers interpret this allegorically.
They say: When the hand speaks, perhaps
some sign, like a scratch or abscess, will show on
its skin. Then you can say, in a sense that the hand
speaks since it gives information, “I ate something
causing inflammation, and so I became like this.”
Or the hand is wounded and becomes black.
These signs tell a story, saying “A knife struck
me,” or “I rubbed myself against a black pot.” So
much for the philosophers!
The Sunni theologians say: God forbid! No
indeed! The hands and feet will speak just as the
tongue speaks. On the day of resurrection a person
will deny their past saying, “I did not steal.”
But their hand will answer, “Yes you stole, since I
took it.” They will then turn to their hand, saying,
“You have never spoken before, how can you
speak now?” The hand will answer, “God gave us
speech, just as It gives all things speech. It gives
speech to the door and wall, the stone and clod.
What is so astonishing about that?”
You speak with your tongue, yet it is merely a
piece of flesh. Your hand is also a piece of flesh. Is
your tongue endowed with reason? Yet when God
commanded it to speak, it spoke.
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FIHI MA FIHI V 195
Words come according to the attainment of the
listener. Speech is like water that flows from a
reservoir. How can the water know where they
will send it—into the cucumber-patch, the onionbed,
or the rose-garden? But I know this: when
water comes in torrents, there the lands are thirsty
and extensive. But if only a little trickle flows, that
land is small—a little orchard, or a tiny courtyard.
The Prophet said, “God inspires wisdom in
the tongue of the teacher according to the aspirations
of the student.” I am a cobbler: the leather
is plentiful, but I cut and stitch according to the
size of the foot.
I am your mirror,
I am your measure;
As much as your stature is,
So much my treasure.
A worm lives under the earth in darkness. It
has no eyes or ears because where it lives it does
not need them. Since there is no need, why give
eyes and ears to worms? God has no scarcity of
eyes and ears and It is not miserly, but It gives
according to the need. Anything else becomes a
burden. God’s wisdom and grace remove burdens;
how could It do otherwise? For instance, if you
gave tailors the tools of a carpenter—axe, saw,
and a file—you would burden them, since they
cannot use such instruments to make clothes. So
God gives according to need and no more.
Just as those worms thrive in darkness under
the earth, so there are people who are content and
satisfied to live in the darkness of this world, having
no need for the heavenly world, and no yearning
for the Vision. Of what use to them is the eye
of clairvoyance or the ear of understanding? Their
work in this world needs only the eyes they have.
Since they have no desire for the other side, why
give them clairvoyance, which would be useless to
them?
Do not think that saints
No longer travel upon this road.
Perfect in all life’s ways.
Traceless lovers of God.
It is because you cannot see
Their secrets through your eyes,
You fancy in your vain conceit,
No others can gain that prize.
This world continues through heedlessness. If
it were not for heedlessness this world would not
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FIHI MA FIHI V 197
remain. Yearning for God, contemplation of the
next world, intoxication, and ecstasy—these are
the builders of that inner realm. If these true
desires revealed themselves to all people, there
would be a worldwide exodus. None would
remain. Yet God wants both worlds to exist, so It
has appointed two sheriffs one heedlessness, the
other heedfulness—so that both houses can
thrive.
Rumi said: If I appear lacking in gratitude and
appreciation for the kindness and support you
show me, both directly and indirectly, it is not out
of arrogance or indifference, nor is it because I
don’t know the importance of returning your
favor and love. But I am aware from the purity of
your efforts that you do these things sincerely for
the sake of God, so I leave it to God to thank you.
If I concerned myself with thanking you, granting
you verbal honor and praising you, it would be as
if some part of the treasure that God has set aside
for you was already given, some part of your
reward had already been paid.
Humble attitudes, offering thanks and
applause—these are worldly pleasures. But when
you have gone to worldly pains such as the
sacrifice of wealth and position, how can worldly
pleasure be a satisfactory return? Therefore, I do
not offer thanks since that reward should come
entirely from God.
discourse 26
FIHI MA FIHI V 199
No one can eat wealth. Wealth is sought for
what it brings, not what it is. With wealth people
purchase horses, servant-girls and slaves. Then
they display these riches so that others will praise
and applaud them. Therefore, it is the world itself
that is held up so high, and it is this world that is
praised and applauded.
Sheik Nassaj of Bukhara was an honored, spiritual
man. Learned and great people came to visit
him and knelt at his feet. The Sheik was unlettered,
but they loved to hear him expounding on
the Koran and Traditions of the Prophet. He
would say, “I do not know Arabic. Translate a
verse from the Koran so I can tell you its meaning.”
They would translate the verse. Then he
would begin to explain and reveal the truth in it.
He would say, “The Prophet was in such and such
a situation when he uttered this verse. The circumstances
took place like this…” And he would
describe in detail the spiritual level of that situation,
the ways leading up to it, and how the
Prophet gained that state.
One day a descendant of Ali was praising a certain
judge while standing next to the judge, saying,
“There is no judge like this man anywhere in
the world. He does not take bribes. He dispenses
justice amongst others without partiality or favor,
purely and sincerely for the sake of God.” When
Sheik Nassaj heard this he replied, “To say that he
doesn’t take bribes is certainly a lie. You, an honored
descendant of Ali, praise and applaud him to
his face, saying that he does not take bribes. Isn’t
that a bribe? What could be a better bribe than
that?”
Sheik Tirmidhi once said, “Saiyid Burhan al-
Din expounds truths so well because he has studied
the books, secret writings and treatises of the
masters.” A Sufi answered, “But you study them
as well. Why don’t you speak like he does?”
Tirmidhi replied, “Well, Burhan al-Din has also
made great spiritual efforts and accomplishments.”
The Sufi said, “Why didn’t you say that
in the first place? You only know how to repeat
what you have read; that is the difference. But we
are now speaking of something greater than
books—you too can speak of that!”
Few care about the other world at all. They
have fixed their hearts upon this world entirely.
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FIHI MA FIHI V 201
Some seek these teachings to eat the bread of
God, some only to inspect the bread. They want
to learn these words just to sell them. These
words are like a beautiful bride; if a beautiful
maiden is bought to be sold again, how can she
love her buyer or fix her heart upon him? Since
the pleasure of that merchant comes only in selling,
he is as good as impotent. He buys the girl to
sell her, not having the manhood and virility to
want her for himself.
If a fine Indian sword falls into the hands of an
effeminate man, he will take it to sell it. If a
mighty Pehlevi bow falls into his hands, he will
also sell it since he does not have the strength of
arm to draw the bow. He desires that bow for the
value of the string, he has no capacity for the
string, itself. He is in love merely with what it will
bring. When such a man sells the bow, he trades
it for rouge and indigo. What else should he do?
Marvelous! What could he buy better than that?
These words mean nothing except to the initiated!
Beware! Do not say, “I have understood.”
The more you understand and grasp these words,
the farther you will be from understanding them.
Their meaning comes in not understanding. All
your troubles, misfortunes and disappointments
arise from such understanding. This understanding
is a chain for you. You must escape it to gain
anything at all.
You say, “I filled my sheep-skin in the sea, but
the sea was too great to be contained in my sheepskin.”
That is absurd. If you say, “My sheep-skin
was lost in the sea,” that is excellent! That is the
root of the matter. Reason is fine and useful until
it brings you to the door of the King. Once you
have reached His door, give up reason, for in that
hour reason is a sheer loss to you, a highway robber.
When you have reached the King, surrender
yourself to Him, you have no use then for the
how and wherefore.
For instance, you have an uncut cloth you
want made into a tunic or a cloak. Reason brings
you to a tailor. Until that moment reason is fine,
for it brings the cloth to the tailor. Now in that
very moment reason must be forgotten and you
must abandon yourself wholly to the direction of
the tailor. In the same way, reason is fine when
you are sick because it brings you to the physi-
202 V DISCOURSES OF RUMI
FIHI MA FIHI V 203
cian. After that, reason is of no use to you, since
you must surrender yourself to the advice of the
physician.
Your companions hear your secret cries of love
for God. When they come to you, you will know
which of them has that true substance—the
responsiveness of Soul. In a train of camels, the
camel in rut is easily spotted by its eyes, its manner
of walking and its breath.
“Their mark is on their faces, the trace of prostration.”
Although it is the roots of a tree that drink, you
can see the results of that drinking through its
branches, leaves and fruit. The tree that does not
drink withers—how can this stay concealed?
You will hear their loud shouts because they
understand paragraphs from a single word you
speak, and from a single letter they recognize all
the overtones. They are like someone who has
studied the Koran; As soon as they hear the first
word from a Koran commentary, they understand
all the root ideas and questions, since they know
its source. They will offer observations on that
single word as if to say, “Within the depths of this
subject I know many things and see many things,
for I have worked and studied, turning night into
day, and I have found the treasures.”
“Did We not expand your breast out of love
for you?”
The expansion of the breast is infinite. Once
that expansive truth has been tasted, we understand
much from even one hint. But beginners
will only understand, from a word, the meaning
of that one word. What inner knowledge and
ecstasy can they possess?
Words are spoken according to the capacity of
the listeners. If beginners do not know how to
draw wisdom out, how can it come forth? Once
they breathe in, then wisdom will fill their hearts.
But they say, “For heaven’s sake, why aren’t the
words spoken?” The answer is, “For heaven’s
sake, why don’t you draw this wisdom in?”
Whoever withholds the power to listen also withholds
from the speaker the impulse to speak.
In the time of the Prophet, a certain unbeliever
had a Muslim slave who was a man of true substance.
One morning the unbeliever ordered his
slave, “Fetch basins. I am going to the baths.” On
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FIHI MA FIHI V 205
the way they passed by the Prophet praying in the
mosque with his companions. The slave said,
“Master, for God’s good sake take this bowl for a
moment, so that I can make a few genuflections,
then I will attend to you.”
Entering the mosque, he prayed. The Prophet
came out with his companions. The slave
remained alone in the mosque. His master waited
for him till mid-morning, then he shouted, “Come
out, slave!” The slave answered, “They won’t let
me go, as the work has gone beyond bounds.”
The master put his head inside the mosque to see
who it was that would not let the slave go. Except
for a shoe and a shadow he saw no one. Nobody
stirred. He said, “Well, who is it that won’t let
you come out?” The slave replied, “The same
One who will not allow you to come in, the very
same One whom you cannot see.”
People always want to see new things that they
have not yet seen. Night and day they seek after
new experiences. They are slaves of anything they
have not yet enjoyed, but become bored and run
away from what they have already heard and
understood. For this reason the philosophers
reject the Vision of God, saying, “If you can
become bored with what you see, this cannot be
truth.” The Sunni theologians say, “This could
occur only if God was single-colored. But in truth
He comes forth in a hundred colors, every
instant.”
“Every day He is upon a task.”
If God should reveal Itself a hundred thousand
times, not one moment would resemble another.
Every instant you see God’s display and yet not
even one act resembles another. In times of happiness
you see one display, in times of weeping you
find another. During moments of fear you see one
face, during hope another. Since God’s creations
and His acts vary infinitely, not one like another,
so you can be sure the display of His Essence also
varies endlessly. You, too, being a single spark of
God’s flame, change a thousand times every
instant and never stay the same.
There are certain seekers of God who proceed
from the Koran to God. Others more elect come
from God, find the Koran here, and know that
God has sent it down.
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FIHI MA FIHI V 207
“We have seen the Remembrance,
and We will watch over it.”
Commentators say that this quote refers to the
Koran, but it also means, “We have seen in you a
substance, a seeking, a yearning. We will watch
over that, not letting it go to waste, but will bring
it to its rightful place.”
Once you say “God”, then stand firm under all
calamities that rain down upon you. A certain
person came to the Prophet and said to him,
“Truly I love you.” The Prophet said, “Take heed
what you say.” The person repeated, “Truly I love
you.” Mohammed said, “Take heed what you
say.” They said, “Truly I love you.” Mohammed
said, “Now stand firm, for with my own hand I
will slay you. Woe upon you!”
Another person came to the Prophet and said,
“I don’t want this religion. By God, take it back.
Ever since I entered your religion I’ve had no
peace for a single day. My wealth is gone, my
spouse has left, my child cannot be found, my
respect is destroyed, my strength is sapped, even
my lust has disappeared.” Mohammed answered,
“What did you expect? Wherever our religion
goes it does not return without uprooting that
person and sweeping clean their house.”
“None but the purified shall touch God.”
So long as there remains in you a single trace
of self-love, God will not show His face to you.
You will not be worthy of His presence. You must
become wholly indifferent to yourself and the
world, so that Friend can show His face. So,
whenever our religion lodges in a heart, it will not
withdraw its hand until it brings that heart to
God and severs from it all that is untrue.
The Prophet went on to say to that person,
“You have no peace because sorrow’s purpose is
to empty you of previous joys. So long as food
fills your stomach, you are not given new food to
eat. During elimination, we eat nothing. When we
are empty and hungry, then we are given food. Be
patient and grieve, for grieving is the emptying of
yourself. After you are empty, then joy can
enter—a joy with no sorrow, a rose without a
thorn, a wine without crop-sickness.”
Why, night and day, do you search for quiet
and rest? They cannot be found in this world. But
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FIHI MA FIHI V 209
not for one instant do you give up seeking these
things. The comfort you find in this world is like
a lightning flash that passes but never endures.
And what kind of lightning is it? Lightning full of
hail, full of rain and snow, full of suffering. For
instance, someone sets out for Antalya. They go
toward Caesarea hoping to reach Antalya, and
never turn back even though it is impossible to
reach Antalya by this route. But another who goes
by the Antalyan road, though lame and feeble,
still they will reach their goal, since that is where
the Antalyan road ends.
No task in this world or the next is without
suffering. Therefore, devote your suffering to the
next world so it will not be wasted. You say, “O
Mohammed take away this religion from me, for
I can find no rest.” How can our religion let anyone
go before it brings them to the goal?
There was a certain teacher who, due to poverty,
wore only a single garment of cotton in the
middle of winter. By chance, torrents of rain
brought down a bear out of the mountains, carrying
the bear along with its head hidden in the
water. The children, seeing its back, cried,
“Teacher, look! A fur coat has fallen into the
water, and you are cold. Take it!”
The teacher in dire need and coldness jumped
in to catch the fur coat. The bear quickly plunged
its claws into the teacher’s back. The bear in the
water thus caught the teacher.
“Teacher,” the children shouted, “either grab
the fur coat or let it go and come out!”
“I am letting the fur coat go,” answered the
teacher, “but the fur coat isn’t letting me go. What
should I do?”
How can God’s love let you go? We should be
thankful that God does not let us go. When a
child is small it knows nothing but milk and its
mother. Yet, God does not leave the child there,
but leads it on to eat bread and to play, and in this
manner draws it on to the stage of reason. So too
in this world—which is in its infancy compared
with that other world—God does not leave you
here, but brings you on so you can realize that
this is infancy and nothing at all. I am amazed at
the people who must be dragged to Paradise in
chains and fetters.
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FIHI MA FIHI V 211
“Take them and fetter them,
then roast them in Paradise,
then roast them in Union,
then roast them in Beauty,
then roast them in Perfection.”
Fishermen do not drag out a fish all at once.
Once the hook has entered the fish’s throat they
reel it in a little so it will lose strength. Then they
let it out, and draw it in again, until it weakens.
When the hook of Love falls into our throat, God
draws us gradually so those bad attributes will
leave us little by little.
“There is no God, but God”—that is what the
common folk say. The elect believe “There is no
Self, but Self.” Someone sees in a dream that they
are a ruler. They are seated on a throne with servants,
chamberlains and princes standing by.
They say, “I am ruler, and there is no ruler but I.”
They say this in their sleep. When they wake up
and see no one in the house but themself, they say,
“I am, and there is no other than that I Am.” To
realize this, one must be fully awake.
Every religion denies every other. One group
says, “We are the true ones, revelation belongs to
us, all others are false.” All the others say exactly
the same. So the two and seventy creeds are in
agreement that all others are without revelation.
They are all in accord that there is no revelation
to any other religion, and that out of the lot of
them there is but one true path. So, a believer
must have discrimination and wisdom to know
which one it is. Such discrimination and wisdom
is true faith.
Someone said: “The religions that don’t know
are many, and those that know are few. If we are
to occupy ourselves with distinguishing all of
them it will be a long business.”
Rumi answered: Although there are many who
do not know, when you know a few you have
known them all. In the same way when you know
a single handful of corn, you know all the cornstacks
in the world. If you have tasted sugar once,
though halvah is made in a hundred different
varieties, still in that halvah you know the sugar.
If these words seem repetitious to you, it is
only because you have not yet learned the first lesson,
so I must say it every day. There was once a
student who was taught for three months, but
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never went beyond “A is for apple.” The child’s
father came and said to the teacher, “I never fail
to pay your fees. If I have ever failed a payment,
please let me know, and I will pay more.” The
teacher answered, “The failure is not yours, but
the child doesn’t go beyond this point.” The
teacher called the student and said, “Say, A is for
apple.” The child said, “Is for apple,” unable to
say “A.” The teacher said, “You see? Since the
child has not passed the first point, how can I give
any more?” The father said, “Praise belongs to
God.”
We do not say, “Praise belongs to God” after a
meal because there was a shortage of bread. Bread
and blessings are without limit, but the appetite is
gone and the guests are sated. That is why we say,
“Praise belongs to God.”
The bread of revelation is very different from
this worldly bread, because even with no appetite
you can force yourself to eat as much worldly
bread as you want. And since it is inanimate, you
can drag it wherever you like. It does not have the
spirit to withhold itself from those who are not
worthy. But Divine bread is a living wisdom and
a living blessing. As long as you desire nothing
else, it comes towards you and becomes your
food. But should your desire fail, you will not be
able to eat it, even by force. It hides behind the
veil and will not show you its face.
(Rumi was telling about the miracles of the
saints. He said:) For someone to fly from here to
the Kaaba in an instant is not so wonderful, even
though there are such stories of saints having
done so. But a true miracle is this: that God
should bring you from a lowly estate to a high
estate, that you should travel from ignorance to
reason, from the inanimate to life. Just as at first
you were earth and mineral, God brought you to
the vegetable world. Then you journeyed from the
vegetable world to the animal world, from the
animal world to the world of humanity.
These are the true miracles. Through these stations
and forms you journeyed, never once thinking
or imagining where you would arrive, by
which road you would be taken, or how you
would be brought. Even so, you will be brought
on to a hundred other worlds. Do not doubt it,
and if you are told such stories, believe them.
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A bowl of poison was brought as a present to
Umar. “Of what use is this?” he asked.
They said, “When it is not publicly advisable
to kill someone openly, you can give them a little
of this. Then they will die secretly. If it is an
enemy who cannot be slain with the sword, with
a little of this they can be killed clandestinely.”
“You have brought me a very good thing,” he
said. “Give it to me to drink, for within me is a
mighty enemy whom the sword cannot reach. I
have no greater enemy in the world than he.”
“There is no need to drink it all up in one
gulp,” they told him. “Just one sip is enough. This
bowl is sufficient for a hundred thousand people.”
“My enemy, too, is not one person,” said
Umar. “He is a thousand strong, and has overthrown
a hundred thousand.”
He then seized the cup and drank it all in one
draught. At once the assembled multitude all
became believers, crying, “Your religion is true!”
“You have all become believers,” said Umar,
“and yet this infidel within me has not yet become
a believer.”
What Umar desired was not the faith of the
common people. He had that faith and more—
indeed, he had the faith of the veracious. He was
seeking the faith of the Prophets in absolute certainty.
That was what he hoped for.
The report of a lion spread abroad through all
parts of the world. It was said this lion had a special
quality: Anyone who approached him boldly,
and rubbed their hands upon him lovingly, would
be unharmed, but if they were afraid and timorous
the lion would be enraged against them.
Sometimes he even attacked, as if to say, “What is
this bad opinion you have of me?”
A certain person, marveling at the rumor, traveled
from far away to see the lion. For a year this
person endured the rigors of the road, and traveled
from town to town. After finally arriving at
the thicket and spying the lion from afar, this lion
seeker stood still and could advance no closer.
The people said to this person, “You set forth
on a long road out of love for this lion. For this
creature you have struggled on for a year. Now
that you have come so close, why do you stand
still? Advance one more step!”
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But none of them had the courage to take a further
step. They all said, “The steps we took up to
here were all easy. Yet this one step we cannot
make.”
What Umar desired was that step, to take one
step in the presence of the lion towards the lion.
That step is a great and rare matter, the concern
of only the chosen and intimate of God. Yet this
is the true step—the rest are mere footprints. Such
faith comes only to prophets who have washed
their hands of their own life.
A lover is a wonderful thing. We derive
strength, life and growth from even the thought of
our beloved. Why is this surprising? Laila’s spirit
gave strength to Majnun and became his food. If
her image had such power and influence over
Majnun, then why should you marvel at the
thought of God giving strength to Umar? That
was not a mere thought. That was the very soul of
all realities! It is just such a thought that maintains
this world.
You say “reality” is what you can see and perceive
with your senses, otherwise you call it
“imagination.” The opposite it true! This world is
what is imagined. Out of reality springs a hundred
worlds like this that will rot one day and disappear.
Then a new world springs forth, even better
than the last. Reality does not become old or
new. These are but temporary expressions of what
is Real.
An architect sees a building in their thoughts.
They picture it to be so tall, so long, its floor
angles this way, its courtyard is shaped like this.
People do not call this “imagination.” But when
someone, who knows nothing about building,
talks about such details, certainly that is different.
As people say, “They are just imagining things.”
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It is better not to question what Sufis say, since
this obliges them to invent a lie. For if a materialist
questions a Sufi, the Sufi must give some
answer. But how can they be completely truthful
with someone incapable of understanding? The
materialist’s mouth and lips are not able to receive
such a delicate morsel. So the Sufi must answer
people according to their capacity and experience,
namely by inventing an answer that sends them
away.
Although everything the Sufi gives out is true
and cannot be a lie, yet the first thing a Sufi says
is far greater. If this is questioned, then what good
is answering with more truth? Even still, the lie
given by the Sufi is good for the materialist, and
more than right.
A certain dervish had a disciple who used to
beg for him. One day out of what they gained
from their begging, the disciple brought some
food to their master. The dervish ate the food.
discourse 27
That night he had a wet dream.
“Where did you get that food?” he asked the
disciple.
“A lovely girl gave it to me,” the disciple
answered.
“By God,” said the dervish, “it is twenty years
since I had a wet dream. This is the effect of her
morsel.”
This shows that the dervish must be careful,
they cannot eat every morsel. The dervish is too
sensitive. Things will effect them and become visible,
just as a little blackness shows on a clean
white gown. However, as for a black gown that
has become black with grime for many years, if a
thousand kinds of filth should trickle on it, it
would make no difference.
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The long entreating prayer-song of seekers and
travelers tells a story of lives occupied in labor
and devotion with each effort assigned to its special
time. It is as though an overseer of habit
draws them to their specific task. For example,
when first rising in the morning, they give themselves
to contemplation and worship while the
mind is quiet and clear. Thus, each performs the
service that is suitable to them and comes within
the scope of their noble Soul.
There are a hundred thousand ranks. The
purer someone becomes, the higher up they are
raised. This story of spiritual growth is a long
one. Whoever tries to shorten it would shorten
their own life and Soul, but for the grace of God.
As for the prayer-songs of those who have
attained union with God, I must speak within the
limits of understanding—for their love and the
purity of their voices attract holy spirits, pure
angels, and those visitors whom none know but
discourse 28
God—the Silent Ones whose names are hidden
from the world out of exceeding jealousy.
You are seated beside them now, but you do
not see them. Neither do you hear their speech,
their greetings or laughter. Yet what is so marvelous
about this? When someone is sick, they see
apparitions that others cannot see. Yet these spiritual
beings are a thousand times subtler than
those apparitions, for while the average person
does not see or hear such visions until they are
sick, they will not see these spiritual beings before
they die. Such spiritual visitors know the refined
states and majesty of the saints. They watch from
earliest morn, while a thousand other angels and
pure spirits wait upon the saints. For this reason
the Silent Ones hesitate infinitely—not wanting to
intervene in the midst of such a chorus, or disturb
the ones they wish to honor.
Slaves are present every morning at the door of
the king’s palace. Each has a fixed station, a fixed
service, and a fixed devotion. Some serve from
afar, and the king does not see them nor notice
them. All the slaves know which one amongst
them has the honor of the king’s presence. When
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the king leaves, the servants attend to that one
from every gate, for there is no greater way to
serve the king. That one has taken on the characteristics
of the king, and becomes the hearing and
sight of the king for all the others.
This is an extremely majestic station, ineffable
indeed. The majesty of it cannot be comprehended
by spelling out M-a-j-e-s-t-y. If even a small
trace of this majesty penetrated the world, the letter
“M” would be unwritable, the sound “M”
would be unpronounceable, nor could any hint or
symbol remain. The whole city would be devastated
by the hosts of Light.
“Kings, when they enter a city, disorder it.”
A camel enters a house, and the house is devastated,
but in that ruin there are a thousand treasures.
Only in ruins may a treasure be found.
In thriving cities a hound is still a hound.
If I have described at length the station of the
seekers, how can I explain the states of those who
have attained? They have no end—only seekers
have an end. The end of all seekers is attainment.
What could be the end for those who have
attained union, a union with no separation? No
ripe grape returns to an unripe grape. No mature
fruit ever becomes raw again.
Yes, it is unlawful to speak
Of these things to men and women.
But once Thy Name is mentioned, O God,
These words pour out for them.
By God, I will not make it long. I will make it short.
My life is consumed, but You turn
That life to wine.
You say that all is given, but take
This Soul as Thine.
Whoever cuts this story short, it is as if they are
abandoning the right road and taking a road into
the life-destroying wilderness, where they say,
“These trees look like the right way home.”
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A Christian by the name of al-Jarrah said: “A
number of Sheik Sadr al-Din’s companions drank
with me, and they said, “Jesus is God, as you
claim. We confess that to be truth, but we conceal
and deny it to preserve the honor of our community.”
Rumi said: God forbid! These are the words of
those drunken with the wine of Satan, the misguider.
How could it be that Jesus, with such a
frail body, who was forced to flee from the plotting
Jews, place after place, who stood less than
two cubits tall, should be the preserver of the
seven heavens—each with a thickness of five hundred
years, and from each heaven to the next a
distance of five hundred years, and every earth
five hundred years, and from each earth to the
next five hundred years? And under this Throne,
the sea of spirit whose depth is even greater, even
many times the like of it? How could your reason
accept that the ruler of all these is the feeblest of
discourse 29
forms? Moreover, that before being born, Jesus
was the creator of the heavens and the earth?
Glory be to God, above what the wrongdoers
assert!
The Christian said: “His body was mere dust.
Dust went to dust, and pure spirit to pure spirit.”
Rumi said: If the spirit of Jesus was God,
where went his spirit? Spirit returns to its Origin
and Creator. If he was himself the Origin and
Creator, where should he go?
The Christian said: “So we found it stated, and
we took it as our religion.”
Rumi answered: If you find and inherit your
parents’ false gold, black and corrupt, do you
mean you will not change it for gold of sound
quality, free of alloy and adulteration? No, you
keep that gold, saying, “We found it so.”
Or you inherit from your parents a paralyzed
hand, and you find a treatment and a physician to
heal that hand. Do you accept it? No, instead you
say, “I found my hand paralyzed, and I will not
change it.” Or if you find salt water on a farm
where your parents died and you were brought
up, but you are shown another farm whose water
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is sweet, whose herbs are wholesome, whose people
are healthy. Do you desire to move to that
other farm and drink the sweet water that would
rid you of all diseases and ailments? No, you say,
“We found this farm with its salt water and its ailments,
and we hold on to what we found.”
God forbid! This is not the action or the words
of an intelligent person possessed of sound senses.
God gave you an intelligence of your own separate
from your parents’ intelligence, a sight of
your own other than your father’s sight, a discrimination
of your own. Why do you nullify
your sight and your intelligence, following an
intelligence that will mislead and destroy you?
Yutash—his father was a cobbler. Yet when he
attained the Sultan’s presence, learning the manner
of kings and how to be Master of the Sword
and the Sultan conferred on him the highest rank,
he never said, “I found my father a cobbler, so I
do not want this post. Give me, O Sultan, a shop
in the market so I can practice cobbling.” Indeed,
even a dog, for all its baseness, once it has learned
to become a hunter for the Sultan, forgets how it
was raised, skulking in rubbish heaps and wastelands
and craving for carrion. On the contrary, it
follows the Sultan’s horses and pursues the game.
It is the same with the hawk. When the Sultan has
trained it, it never says, “I inherited from my
father desolate haunts in the mountains and the
devouring of dead things, so I will not heed the
Sultan’s drum, or his game.”
If the intellect of the beast can choose something
better than what it inherited from its parents,
it is monstrous and horrible that a human
being, superior to all the inhabitants of the earth
in reason and discrimination, should be less than
a beast. We take refuge in God from that!
Certainly it is right to say that God honored
Jesus and drew him close, so that whoever serves
Jesus has served the Lord, whoever obeys him has
obeyed the Lord. But since God sends a prophet
in every age, manifesting by their hand all that
was manifested by Jesus’ hand and more, it
behooves us to follow that prophet—not for the
sake of the prophet, but for the sake of God.
Only God can be served for Its own sake.
Therefore, only God is truly loved. Love for all
else ends in God. So, love a thing only for God,
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and seek a thing only for God, until in the end
you come to God and love It for Itself.
To dress up the Kaaba is a vain desire,
God’s presence is all the cloth you need.
Just as worn-out and ragged clothes conceal
the elegance of wealth and grandeur, so excellent
clothes and fine raiment conceal the mark and
beauty and perfection of the saint. When the
saint’s clothes are in shreds and patches, then
their heart is revealed.
There are heads that are adorned by crowns of
gold, and there are heads whose beautiful curls
are merely hidden by jewels and gold. The curls of
our heart’s beloved arouse love, and love is the
throne-room of the heart. But a crown is nothing
but metal and stones.
We sought everywhere for Solomon’s ring. We
found his wisdom far from riches. Abandoning
wealth we found that beautiful treasure. In poverty
we took our repose, and our Beloved was
pleased with nothing so much as this.
Well, I am a whoremonger. Since I was young,
I have been a seller of love. I know this destroys
barriers and consumes the veils of the heart. Love
is the root of all obedience; all else is mere adornment.
If you do not sacrifice, how can you gain
your heart’s desire? Giving up everything leads to
annihilation, the source of all pleasures where no
separation exists.
“And God is with the patient.”
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In every shop or potion, every merchandise or
trade, the end of the thread for each one of these
is the need of the human spirit. Until the need
arises, the end of that thread is hidden. With every
religion, every faith, every grace, every miracle,
and all the states of the prophets—the end of each
thread is within us. Until the need appears, the
end of that thread remains invisible.
“All things are numbered and clearly recorded.”
Someone asked: “Is the source of good and evil
one thing or two?”
Rumi said: From the point of view that they
are continually at war with one another, the
answer is obviously two—since a person cannot
be opposed to himself. But, from the viewpoint
that evil is inseparable from good—for good is the
giving up of evil, and the giving up of evil is
impossible without evil, and were it not for the
incitement of evil, no one would ever abandon the
good—from this point of view they are not two.
The Magians said that Yazdan is the creator of
good things and Ahriman is the creator of evil
and hateful things. But desirable things are never
separated from hated things. The desirable cannot
exist without the hateful, since what we like is
always compared to what we hate, and the more
we think evil of one thing, the more we desire its
opposite. Joy is the end of sorrow; the end of sorrow
without joy is impossible. So they are one
and indivisible.
Until a thing passes away, its true meaning cannot
be known. No one’s life can be judged until it
is finished, because what starts evil can turn out
good. And until words pass away into speech,
who can know their purpose?
Whoever criticizes a Sufi in reality does the Sufi
a good turn, for the Sufi shies away from praise.
The Sufi is an enemy of vanity, hence whoever
speaks evil of the Sufi’s ego, speaks evil of the
Sufi’s enemy, and therefore helps them. “Things
become clear through their opposites.” So the Sufi
knows the critic is not really their enemy, but their
friend.
I am like a smiling garden surrounded by a
wall of filth and thorns. Those passing by do not
see the garden; they see only the wall and ridicule
it. Why then would the garden be angry with
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them? The critics only hold themselves back,
because to reach the garden they must first cross
the wall. So by finding fault with the wall, they
send themselves far away from the garden and
work to their own destruction. The Prophet said,
“I laugh as I slay,” meaning he kills the unbelievers
in one manner, so that unbelievers will not kill
themselves in a hundred ways. So, of course, he
laughs as he slays.
The police are always in search of thieves to capture,
and thieves are always running away. It is
rare indeed to find a thief that searches for the
police to be captured and thrown in jail. That’s
not a natural desire for thieves.
God said to Abu Yazid, “What do you desire,
Abu Yazid?” He answered, “I desire not to
desire.”
To be wholly without desire—that is not a natural
desire, since a person must empty themself
and cease to be. But God wanted to perfect Abu
Yazid and to make him a complete Sheikh, so that
within him there would be no room for duality or
separation, and only complete union and unity
would prevail.
There are various classes and different ranks
on the spiritual path. Through effort and struggle,
some have attained the station that can refuse
every desire. That is within the scope of some. But
to allow not even an itch of desire to enter the
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FIHI MA FIHI V 235
heart—that is not within the scope of anyone.
Only God’s love can take that out.
It is stated that after Mohammed and the
Prophets revelation will not be sent down upon
anyone else, but this is not true. This is why
Mohammed said, “The believer sees with the
Light of God.” When someone sees with God’s
Light, they see all things, the first and last, the visible
and invisible, for how can anything be hidden
from God’s Light? If anything is hidden, then that
is not God’s Light. Therefore this is revelation,
whether they call it revelation or not.
When Uthman became caliph, he stepped up
into the pulpit. The people waited to see what he
would say. He was silent and said nothing. He
looked steadily at the people, and a state of ecstasy
descended upon them so that they were unable
to move, and could not tell where they were. Not
by a hundred preachings and sermons could such
an excellent state have been shown to them.
Precious lessons were imparted and secrets
revealed. Until the very end, he only looked at
them like this, not saying a word. Then, just
before leaving the pulpit, he said, “It is better for
you to have a working Imam than a speaking
Imam.”
What he said was the truth. If the purpose of
speaking is to communicate instruction delicately
to uplift the people, that had been accomplished
many times better without words. So what
Uthman said was perfectly correct. During the
time he was in the pulpit he did no external work
visible to the people; he did not pray, he did not
go on the pilgrimage, he did not give alms, he did
not commemorate God, he did not even speak the
caliph’s address. Therefore, know that work and
action are not limited to the outer form only,
rather these visible forms of work are merely a
shadow of that true work of Soul.
The Prophet said, “My Companions are like
stars; Whichever of them you follow, you will be
guided right.” When someone follows a star and
finds their way by it, the star does not speak.
Merely by looking at the star, they discover that
invisible road and reach their goal. In the same
way, it is possible by merely gazing at God’s saints
to find the spiritual path. Without words, without
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questioning, without speech, the purpose is
achieved.
In all the world there is nothing more difficult
than enduring the ridiculous. Suppose for
instance that you have studied a certain book,
corrected, amended, and fully recited it. Then
someone sitting beside you reads the book all
wrong. Can you endure that? No, it is impossible.
However, if you never read the book, it makes no
difference to you whether anyone reads it wrong
or right—you cannot tell the difference. So,
enduring the ridiculous is a great discipline.
The prophets and saints do not shirk discipline.
Their first discipline is to slay this self that
is controlled by desires and lusts. That is the
“Greater Holy War.” When they achieve this, and
establish themselves in the station of security, then
wrong and right become revealed to them. Yet
they are still engaged in a great struggle, for these
mortals do everything wrong. The saints see this
and must endure it. If they do not, and speak out
declaring those mortals wrong, not one person in
Heaven or on Earth will stand beside them. But
God bestows on the saints a great and mighty
capacity to endure. Out of a hundred wrong acts,
they mention one, so that it will not become
difficult to overcome. The other mistakes they
hide and even praise, saying, “That wrong of
yours is right,” so that little by little they can
overcome this ignorance.
It is the same when a teacher is teaching a child
how to write. When the child writes their first
whole line, the child runs to show it to the
teacher. In the teacher’s eyes it is filled with mistakes,
but the teacher speaks to the child kindly
and encourages them, “That is excellent. You
have written well. Bravo, bravo! Only this letter is
not quite right, this is how it should be. And this
other letter looks like this.” The teacher calls a
few letters wrong out of that line, and shows the
child how they ought to be written. The rest is
praised, so the child will not lose heart. The
child’s weakness gathers strength from that
approval, and so gradually they are taught and
assisted on their way.
We hope that God will grant the Amir all the
designs of his heart. We hope God will also grant
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FIHI MA FIHI V 239
the Amir those good fortunes that he does not
even know of, so that when his heart sees those
true gifts of God, he will be ashamed of his former
wishes and desires.
That is called a true gift when we find what is
beyond our own imagination. For whatever
enters a person’s imagination is a measure of their
ambition and capacity. But God’s gift is a measure
of God’s capacity.
“What the eye has not seen,
Nor the ear heard,
Nor has entered into the heart of anyone.”
Whatever you conceive of God’s bounty, God
transcends all that.
Knowingness is the perfect Sheik. Inspired and
true thoughts are His disciples ranked according
God’s closeness to them. As each thought expands
it comes nearer to knowingness and farther from
doubt.
All thoughts suck milk at the breast of certainty,
and grow. Theory and practice nourish each
thought until it approaches certainty. Then
thought passes away into certainty, for, in knowingness,
thought no longer remains.
The sheikhs and their disciples in the world
today are reflections of that Sheikh of
Knowingness. The disciples are proof that
although the form of teaching changes from age
to age, generation after generation, that Sheikh of
Certainty and the Lovers of Truth are eternal, and
never change.
Errant and doubtful thoughts are the outcast
disciples of the Sheikh of Knowingness. Every day
they wander further from the truth, and fall deeper
into darkness.
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“In their hearts is a sickness,
And God increases their sickness.”
The masters eat dates, but prisoners eat thorns.
“Save those who return to truth,
And do righteous deeds.
God will change their evil
Into good.”
Every experience leads us to certainty, even
acts of corruption. Like the cunning thief who
repents and joins the police force, all their thieving
tricks now become a power for justice. They
are more certain than all the other policemen who
were never thieves, since having stolen they know
the ways of thieves. If they should then become a
Sheikh they would be perfect, the Elder of the
world and the Mahdi of the age.
Everyone is in the midst of their own need. No
living creature can be separated from its need.
“Their need cleaves to them closer
Than their father and mother.”
That need is their leash, drawing them this way
and that, just like a nose-ring and chain. Now,
who would make a leash for themself? That is
absurd—so someone else must have made it for
them.
If we are in the midst of our own need, we are
also in the midst of the One who gives us that
need. If we are constantly attached to our own
leash, we are always connected to the One who
draws that leash. But if our eyes are fixed upon
our chain, we lose strength and hope. Rather our
eyes should be fixed on the One who draws that
chain. Then we gladly surrender and accept our
limitations. For that leash is around our neck only
to reveal the One who holds it.
“Stay away,” they said. “Do not approach.”
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How can I keep away, when you are my need?
God gives elders a youthful passion that young people have no
knowledge of.
Great is old age,
When the grey hairs appear,
And playfulness runs amok.
Such an elder sees the world with a freshness,
as if it were new. They laugh and play.
They ask, “When someone passes eighty, will
they play?”
“Will they play before eighty?” I say.
So the glory of old age is greater than God’s
display. In spring, God shows Its grace, frail and
smiling. In autumn, old age prevails. The worldly
garden is ruined. The apparent bounty is gone.
God is beyond everything
That the forces of destruction can sling.
Rumi said: I saw our friend in a dream in the form
of a wild animal with the skin of a fox upon him.
He was on a small balcony, looking down the
stairs. I moved as if to grab him and he raised his
hands, leaping about like this and that. Then I
saw Jalal al-Tibrizi with him in the form of a
weasel.
Our friend shied away, but I caught him when
he tried to bite me. I put his head under my foot
and squeezed it hard until all its contents came
out. I looked at the fineness of his skin and said,
“This deserves to be filled with gold and precious
stones, pearls and rubies, and things even more
excellent than that.” Then I said, “I have taken
what I wanted. Shy away, shy one. Go where you
will, and leap whatever direction you like!”
He leapt about because he feared being mastered,
yet in being mastered his true happiness
resides. No doubt he was formed of meteor fragments,
his heart was drenched, and he wanted to
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FIHI MA FIHI V 245
know all things. He started out upon this road
with great desires and he struggled hard to keep
to the path and take refuge in it, but that is not
enough. For the Sheikh of Divine Grace is not
snared with such nets, nor can such game be captured
this way. If the Sheikh of God is honest and
true, he is completely free to determine who will
have him. He cannot be trapped without his free
consent.
Our friend sat covertly watching for his prey,
but that prey was watching him in his hidyhole,
and his cunning. That prey is a free agent whose
ways have no limit. He does not pass by everyone’s
hole. He only passes the ways he, himself,
has charted.
“God’s earth is wide,
But none comprehend Its knowledge,
Except as It wills.”
Even when such subtleties as these fell upon
our friend’s tongue and understanding they were
ruined and lost their fine essence. Just as everything,
whether corrupt or true, when it falls into
a Lover of God’s mouth and comprehension is
also changed, becoming swathed and wrapped up
in graces and miracles. Do you not see how the
rod held in Moses’ hand did not remain as it was?
So, too, with the Moaning Pillar and the Stick in
the hand of the Prophet, and prayer in the mouth
of Moses, and iron in David’s hand—they did not
remain in their original form, but were changed.
So, too, with subtleties and sacred words, when
they fall into the hand of darkness and brute intellect,
they are changed as well.
The Kaaba is a tavern for your prayers.
So long as it comes from you, your essence shares.
The unbeliever eats in seven stomachs, and
Jalal al-Tibrizi eats in seventy stomachs. Even if
he has only one stomach, still he eats in seventy
stomachs, because everything that is hateful is
hateful just as everything from the beloved is
beloved. If our friend had returned, I would have
sat with him and counseled him, and not left until
he drove Jalal far away. For Jalal is a corrupter of
our friend’s faith, heart, spirit and reason. If only
Jalal had induced our friend to corrupt practices
other than religion, such as drinking wine and
singing girls—for those can be put right when
treated by a Sheikh of Divine Grace. But Jalal
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FIHI MA FIHI V 247
filled our friend’s house with prayer rugs—would
that Jalal were rolled up in them and burned, so
that our friend might escape from such misleading!
But Jalal has poisoned our friend’s trust in the
Sheikh of God, ridiculing the Sheikh to his face,
while our friend says nothing and destroys himself.
Jalal has snared our friend with rosaries, litanies
and prayer carpets.
Perhaps one day God will open the eyes of our
friend, and he will see what ruined him and drove
him far away from the compassion of the Sheikh
of God. Then he will strike himself with his own
hand, saying, “You destroyed me. Now I have
committed these heavy crimes and evil acts. It is
exactly the way they saw it in their revelations—
the foulness of my deeds, and my vile and sinful
beliefs, were hidden behind my own back in the
corner of my house. I, myself, was concealing
them from the Sheikh of God and burying them,
while He saw everything and said, “What are you
hiding? By God’s will, if I had summoned those
foul forms, they would have marched out before
me one by one, visibly, uncovering themselves,
telling their true nature, and what they concealed
within them.” May God save all those who are
wronged by these highwaymen, who block the
path of God by way of “devotion!”
Kings play polo to show the people of their city
an example of the warrior’s skill—the lopping off
of the enemies’ heads, rolling them around just as
the balls roll in the field, the warrior’s frontal
charge, attack and retreat. This play in the park is
only a symbol for that serious business of war. In
the same way, the people of God perform spiritual
prayers and dances to show something of their
inmost heart—how they follow their discipline
and their path. The singer who leads them is like
the Imam at a ritual Moslem prayer. The people
follow his lead. If he sings slowly, they dance
slowly. If he sings fast, they dance fast. It is only a
reflection of how within their hearts they follow
the summoning of God.
248 V DISCOURSES OF RUMI
I am amazed by those who know the Koran by
heart yet understand nothing of the spiritual
states of the Sufis. As the Koran states, “And do
not obey every paltry asserter.”
Look at the slanderers when they read this,
they are exactly the ones who will say, “Do not
listen to So-and-so, no matter what they say, for
they will act the same way against you.”
“Backbiter, going about with slander,
Hinderer of good.”
The Koran is a marvelous magician. It speaks
clearly to the ears of the hinderers so that they
understand but are not one whit wiser. They don’t
even catch an inkling of the Koran’s true delights.
“God has set a seal…”
How wonderfully gracious God is! It sets a seal
on those who listen and do not understand, argue
and yet learn nothing. God is gracious. Its wrath
is gracious, and even Its lock is gracious. But Its
lock is nothing next to Its unlocking, for the grace
discourse 35
of that is indescribable. If I shatter into pieces, it
is through the infinite grace of God’s unlocking.
Beware, do not think I am sick and dying. That
is only a veil. My slayer is this grace of God’s and
Its incomparableness. The dagger of illness flashes
forth to distract the eyes of strangers, so that no
profane and defiled eyes can perceive Its secret
slaying.
250 V DISCOURSES OF RUMI
All forms spring from Love, as branches spring
forth from their root. No branch can exist without
its root. Therefore, God is not called a form,
since form is the branch. How can God be called
a branch?
Someone said: “Love too cannot be expressed
or experienced without form. Hence it is the
branch of form.”
Why cannot Love be a form without form? On
the contrary, Love is the sculptor of form. A hundred
thousand forms are raised up on Love’s pottery
wheel. Although a painter cannot exist without
paintings, still painting is the branch and the
painter is the root. As the finger moves, so moves
the ring.
Until someone has love for a house, no architect
will draw up designs. In the same way, corn is
at the price of gold one year, another year it is at
the price of dust. The form of the corn is the
same—therefore its value comes from love. The
discourse 36
sciences you study with such love—in your eyes
they are valuable. But when no one pursues them
and no one wants to learn from them, then who
will teach those sciences?
Someone said: “Love is the want and need for
a certain thing. Hence the need is the root, and
that thing needed is its branch.”
These words of yours are also spoken out of
need. First you had the desire for these words,
then they were born. So the need existed first and
then your words were born from it. This means
your need existed, in the beginning, without any
words. Therefore, love and need are not the
branches of words.
Someone said: “But after all, the goal of that
need was these words, so how can the goal be the
branch?”
The branch is always the goal. The tree’s roots
exist for the sake of its branches.
252 V DISCOURSES OF RUMI
Rumi said: The stories that have been spread
against this girl are lies and should go no further.
But I can see that even though we may put aside
these rumors as false, something has settled in the
imagination. Our imagination and heart are like a
vestibule—thoughts first enter the vestibule, then
they move into the house.
This whole world is like one house, and every
image that lodges in our deepest thoughts must
appear and become visible in the house. For
instance, this house in which we are seated—the
form of it first became visible in the heart of the
architect, then this house came into being.
Imagination, daydreams and thoughts are the
vestibule of this house. Whatever you see entering
the vestibule, know that one day it will become
visible in the house. And all these things, good
and evil alike that you see in the world today, all
first appeared in the vestibule before becoming
visible here.
discourse 37
When God wishes to produce rare and wonderful
things in this world; orchards, gardens,
meadows and sciences, It first implants the desire
and demand for them in our inward hearts. And
so, everything you see in this world existed first in
that inner world. For instance, what you see in
the dew also exists in the ocean, for this dew is
from that ocean. In the same way this creation of
heaven and earth, and all the other marvels, God
implanted the desire for these in the spirits of the
ancients, and so the world came into being
accordingly.
The philosophers who say that the world is
eternal—how can they be taken seriously? Their
statement simply means the world was never created
in time, and this claim is impossible to prove.
But those who say it is created in time; they are
the saints and the prophets who are more ancient
than the world. God implanted desire for the
world within their spirits, and only then did the
world appear. So they know for a fact and report
out of their own experience that the world was
created in time.
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FIHI MA FIHI V 255
For instance, those of us who watched when
this house was built know it did not exist until a
few years ago. If living creatures were born in this
house, such as scorpions, mice, snakes and other
creatures, to them this house was already standing.
If they should say, “This house is eternal,”
that is no proof to us, for we saw when this house
was created. Termites and ants that have grown
up in the walls and woodwork know nothing else,
just as the people who have grown up within the
house of this world. Here they sprout up, and
here they will die, knowing nothing else. If they
say that the world is eternal, that is no proof to
the prophets and saints who existed millions of
years before the world. Why speak of years? This
is no place for numbers of years…they are infinite
and beyond counting. They saw this world come
into existence, just as you have seen when this
house was first raised.
The Prophet was seated with his Companions.
Some unbelievers began to denounce and lecture
him. He said, “Well, you all agree there is one person
in the world who receives revelation.
Revelation descends upon him—it does not
descend on everyone. That person has certain
marks and signs in his actions and words, and in
his mien and in every part of him the token and
mark can be seen. Since you have seen those
tokens, turn your faces towards him and hold to
him firmly, so he can be your protector.”
They were all confounded by his argument and
were left with nothing more to say. So they put
their hands on their swords and began to threaten,
torment and insult his Companions. The
Prophet said, “Be patient, so they cannot say they
have prevailed over us. They want to make the
religion manifest by force. God will manifest this
religion.”
For some time the Companions prayed and
pronounced the name of Mohammed secretly.
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FIHI MA FIHI V 257
Then after a while the revelation came; “You too
unsheathe the sword and make war!”
Mohammed is not called “unlettered” because
he was incapable of writing or reading. He is
called “unlettered” because with him writing and
wisdom were innate, not taught. He who
inscribes characters on the face of the moon, is
such a man not able to write? And what is there
in all the world that he does not know, seeing that
all people learn from him? What can the partial
intellect know that the Universal Intellect does
not possess?
The fact that we compose books and create
buildings is nothing new. We have seen this done
before, and we merely add to what we have
already seen. But those who bring into this world
something new of their own account, they are the
Universal Intellect. We are capable of learning
and need to be taught. The Universal Intellect is
the teacher, and is not in need. So, if we investigate
all trades, at the root and origin of them all
is revelation. We have learned everything from the
prophets and the Universal Intellect.
When Cain slew Abel and did not know what
to do next, he saw a raven kill another raven, dig
the earth, and bury the body, scattering dust on its
head. Cain learned from the raven how to make a
grave and how to bury the dead. So it is with all
the professions. Everyone who possesses a partial
intellect is in need of learning, and the Universal
Intellect is the source they are seeking. The
prophets and saints have united the partial intellect
and Universal Intellect so the two have
become one.
For instance, the foot learns from the mind
how to walk. The hand learns from the heart how
to embrace. The eye and ear learn how to see and
hear. If the heart and mind did not exist, how
could the body function?
This body is coarse and gross compared to
both mind and heart. Without their subtlety and
freshness, the body remains useless and crude. So
the partial intellect is like a tool for the Universal
Intellect, and we learn and find our purpose from
there.
Someone said, “Remember us in your intention.
Intention is the root of the matter. If there
are no words, let there be no words. Words are
the branch.”
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FIHI MA FIHI V 259
Rumi said: Well, intention first exists in the
inner world before entering this world of form. So
if form does not matter, what is the purpose of
this world? If you plant only the kernel of an
apricot stone, nothing will grow. If you plant it
with its husk, then it becomes a tree. From this we
know that form also has a function. Yes, prayer is
an inward matter: “There is no prayer without
the heart being present.” But it is still necessary to
bring the prayer into form. With outward words,
genuflection, and prostration, you gain benefit
and attain your desire.
The outer form of prayer is temporary, the
inner spirit never ends. For the Spirit of the world
is an infinite ocean, the body but a limited shore.
Therefore, continual prayer belongs only to the
spirit, but that inward prayer must manifest. Until
intention and form are wedded, there are no children
born.
When you say that words are the branch, this
is only a relative term. Until the branch exists how
can the term “root” gain its meaning? So the
meaning of root came out of this branch. If the
branch had not existed, it could never have had a
name. When you speak of woman, there must
also be man. When you speak of a Master, there
must be a student. When you speak of the Ruler,
there must be one ruled.
260 V DISCOURSES OF RUMI
Husam al-Din Arzanjani, before entering the service
and society of dervishes, was a great debater.
Wherever he went, he engaged vigorously in argument
and controversy. He used to debate well and
spoke excellently, but once he took up the company
of dervishes his heart turned completely
against debate.
“Whoever desires to sit next to God, let them
sit with lovers of God.” These intellectual sciences
are a game and a waste of life, compared to the
spiritual experiences of the dervishes.
This way of desirelessness is the way to attain
your desires. Whatever you have longed for will
come to you on this path, whether the shattering
of armies, victory over your enemy, capturing
kingdoms, bringing people to obedience, excelling
your contemporaries, or elegance of speech.
When you have chosen the way of poverty, these
things come to you. No one has ever traveled this
road and had cause to complain, contrary to
other ways where only one out of a hundred
discourse 39
thousand reach their goal, and even they do not
always find happiness and peace. For every desire
has many branching paths to reach that goal. It is
long and arduous, full of pitfalls and obstacles,
and in the end it is possible those twisting paths
will fall short of your desire.
However, once you enter the world of poverty
and practice it, God bestows on you kingdoms
and worlds you never imagined, and you feel
quite ashamed of what you longed for at first.
“Ah!” you cry. “With such reality in existence,
how could I have sought after such foolishness?”
But God says, “If only you had risen above such
desires, becoming detached from them and seeing
them for what they were, all would have been
well. Yet now, when they enter your thoughts and
you avoid them for My sake, My grace is infinite,
so of course I make them attainable to you.”
So it happened with Mohammed. Before he
attained his goal and became famous, he listened
to the elegant speech and eloquence of the Arabs,
and he wished that he too could speak so well.
Yet, once the invisible worlds were revealed to
him, and he became drunk with God, his heart
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FIHI MA FIHI V 263
turned completely against that desire and longing.
God declared, “I have given you the elegance and
eloquence that you sought.” The Prophet
answered, “Lord, of what use are they to me? I
am indifferent to them and have no desire for
them.” God replied, “Do not worry. Your original
desire shall come to pass, and yet your indifference
will remain, so that desire cannot harm
you.” God bestowed on him such speech that the
entire world, from his time until today, has composed
and still composes volumes expounding it,
and yet people fall short of comprehending all
that it contains. God also declared, “Your
Companions, out of weakness and fear for their
lives, whisper your name only in secret. But I will
publish your greatness abroad so that men and
women will shout it aloud in sweet intonations
five times daily on the high minarets in all regions
of the world. Your name will be famous in the
east and the west.”
It is the same with anyone who gambles their
life upon this way, to them all objectives whether
religious or mundane become attainable. None
have ever had cause to complain.
The words of the Saints are the true coin; the
words of others are but imitation. Imitation is a
branch of the true coin. Imitation is like a wooden
carving in the shape of a foot, that wooden
foot was filched from a real foot and shaped to its
measure. If no foot existed, how could there be a
copy? Therefore some speech is true coin, and
some imitation. They resemble each other. Only
discrimination can recognize the difference. This
critical perception is real faith.
Do you not see how Moses threw down his rod
and it became a serpent, and the staffs and ropes
of the magicians also became serpents, but
Pharaoh who lacked insight saw no difference
between them, while Moses who possessed discernment
could see truth from sorcery? Through
discrimination Moses became a believer. So we
realize that faith is discrimination.
The root of our judgement is Divine revelation.
But after mingling with the thoughts, senses and
desires of mortal creatures, that original grace has
vanished. How does our judgement resemble the
delicacy of revelation now?
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This is like the water that flows in Turut
towards the city. There, at its fountainhead, see
how pure and fine it is! But once it enters the city,
and passes through the gardens, quarters and
houses of the inhabitants, so many people wash
their hands, faces, feet and others parts in it, and
their clothes and carpets, and the urine of all the
people and the dung of horses and mules is
poured into it. Look at this water when it passes
out the other side of the city! It is still the same
water, able to turn dust into clay, quench the
thirsty, make the field green, yet discrimination
can see the water is polluted and has lost its original
clarity.
Water that never grows stale—that is what we
need. Water that can cleanse the impurities of the
world, and yet they leave no trace in it. It retains
its limpid and clear state, and is never tainted.
This is the Water of Truth.
So, faith is discrimination, distinguishing truth
from falsehood and the true coin from the fake.
These words are valuable to everyone possessing
that critical perception, but are wasted on those
who cannot see the difference. If these words fall
into the hands of those who cannot discern, it is
like giving precious pearls to children who do not
know their value. Later, if you offer them apples
they will gladly trade them for pearls, since they
know no better.
Abu Yazid, when a child, was taken by his
father to school to learn jurisprudence. When he
was brought before the schoolmaster he asked,
“Is this the jurisprudence of God?” They said,
“This is the jurisprudence of Abu Hanifa.” He
said, “I want the jurisprudence of God.” When he
was brought before the grammar teacher, he
asked, “Is this the grammar of God?” The teacher
said, “This is the grammar of Sibawaihi.” Abu
Yazid said, “I do not want it.” He spoke this way
wherever his father took him. His father could do
nothing with him, and finally let him be. Later he
came to Baghdad upon his quest, and as soon as
he saw Junaid he shouted, “This is the jurisprudence
of God!”
How could it be that a lamb would not recognize
its own mother on whose milk it has been
suckled? So, forget the form.
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FIHI MA FIHI V 267
There was a certain Sheikh who kept his disciples
standing with their hands folded in service.
They asked him, “Sheikh, why do you not let this
class sit down? This is not the practice of dervishes,
this is the custom of princes and kings.” He
replied, “No. Be silent. You must respect this way
to gain full benefit. Though respect lies within the
heart, yet ‘the outer is the frontispiece of the
inner.’”
From the frontispiece of a book, people know
what it contains. From outward respect, bowing
the head and standing, can be seen what respect
they have inwardly, and their respect for God.
Jauhar, the Sultan’s servant, said, “We have been
told that we must repeat the Muslim credo five
times during our lifetime. What if we don’t understand
the words, or do not memorize them correctly?
After death, what questions will we be
asked, seeing that we have forgotten even the
questions we were taught?”
Rumi replied: If you forget what you have
learned, then of course you become a clean slate
suitable for questions that you have not learned.
Now, this minute, you are listening to me. You
accept some part of what I say because you have
heard similar things before, but some you only
half accept, and concerning other things you hesitate.
No one hears this rejection or acceptance, or
the debate going on within you. Even though you
are listening, no sound or voice comes to your ear
from within you. If you search inwardly, you will
find no instrument of speech.
This coming of yours, to visit me, is itself a
question without a throat or tongue, namely,
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FIHI MA FIHI V 269
“Show me a way, and explain what you have
shown.” My sitting with you, whether silent or
speaking, is an answer to your hidden questions.
When you wait upon the king, that is a question
addressed to the king and an answer. Every day
the king questions his servants without tongue:
“How do you stand? How do you eat? How do
you look?” If anyone has a wry look within them,
their answer inevitably comes out awry and they
cannot give a straight answer. In the same way
someone who stammers, however much they wish
to speak straight, is unable to do so. A goldsmith
who rubs gold against a stone is questioning the
gold, and gold answers, “This is I. I am pure.” Or,
“I am alloyed.”
The crucible knows after you’ve been tested
Whether you are gold,
Or merely copper with gold covering.
Hunger is a questioning of nature: “There is a
crack in the body’s house. Give a brick. Give
clay.” Eating is an answer: “Take.” Not eating is
also an answer: “Wait until later. The brick is not
yet dry.” The physician comes and takes our
pulse. That is a question—the throbbing of the
vein is the answer. Examining the urine is an
unspoken question and answer. To cast a seed
into the ground is a question: “Will you give
fruit?” The growing of the tree is an answer without
a tongue. Because the answer is wordless, the
question must be wordless, too.
A king read three letters from the same man,
but did not answer. The subject wrote a complaint,
saying, “Three times now I have petitioned
your majesty. Let your majesty at least say
whether my petition has been accepted or rejected.”
The king wrote on the back of the letter, “Do
you not know that refusing an answer is an
answer itself, and that the answer to a fool is
silence?”
A tree’s not growing is a refusal to answer, and
is an answer itself. Every motion people make is a
question. Whatever happens to them, whether
sorrow or joy, is an answer. If they hear a pleasant
answer, they show their thanks. Thanks is
expressed by asking the same kind of question
again. If they hear an unpleasant answer, they
quickly ask God’s forgiveness and do not repeat
that kind of question.
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FIHI MA FIHI V 271
“If only, when Our might came upon them,
They had been humble!
But their hearts were hard.”
In other words, they did not understand that
the answer they received came from the question
they asked.
“And Satan decked out fair to them
What they were doing.”
This means they saw the answer to their question
but said, “This ugly answer is not appropriate
to our fair question.” They did not realize that
smoke comes from the fuel, not the fire. The drier
the fuel, the cleaner the flame. If you entrust your
garden to a gardener, and you smell a disagreeable
odor, suspect the gardener and not the garden.
Someone said, “Why did you kill your mother?”
The other answered, “I saw her sleeping with
a strange man.” The first person said, “You
should have killed the stranger.” The second one
said, “Then I would be killing someone every
day.”
Therefore, whatever happens to you, correct
your own self, then you will not have to fight with
someone every day. If others say, “Everything is
from God,” we reply: Then to reproach one’s own
self and to let the world be is also from God.
This is like the story of a boy who shook down
apricots from a tree and ate them. The owner of
the orchard caught him and said, “Aren’t you
afraid of God’s punishment?” The boy said,
“Why should I be afraid? The tree belongs to
God, and I am God’s servant. God’s servant ate
God’s fruit!” The owner said, “Wait and see what
answer I shall give you. Fetch a rope, tie him to
this tree and beat him until the answer is made
clear!” The boy said, “Aren’t you afraid of God’s
punishment?” The owner answered, “Why
should I be afraid? You are God’s servant, and
this is God’s stick. I am beating God’s servant
with God’s stick!”
The moral is that this world is like an echo—
whatever you say, whether good or evil, you hear
the same from the mountain. If you think, “I
spoke beautifully and the mountain gave an ugly
answer,” this is impossible. When the nightingale
sings in the mountain, does the mountain return
the voice of a raven or a donkey? Know for certain
then that you have spoken like a donkey!
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FIHI MA FIHI V 273
Speak sweetly when crossing the mountain pass,
Why do you bray like an ass?
The azure sky sends back the note,
Of sweetness from your own throat.
We are like bowls on the surface of the water. The
direction a bowl moves is controlled not by the
bowl, but by the water.
Someone said: “That is a general statement.
But some people know they are on the surface of
the water, while some do not know.”
Rumi said: If that is a general statement, then
the specific statement, “The heart of the believer
is between two fingers of the All-Merciful” would
mean nothing. It was also said, “The All-Merciful
has taught the Koran.” This cannot be a general
statement. God taught all the sciences, so what is
this particular reference to the Koran?
Similarly, “He created the heavens and the
earth.” Why specifically the heavens and the
earth, since He created all things? True, all bowls
travel on the surface of the water of Omnipotence
and Divine Will, but it is poor manners to refer to
God as “O Creator of dung and farting and windbreaking.”
Instead we say, “O Creator of the
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heavens,” and “O Creator of intelligence.” So this
distinction, although general, is an indication of
choiceness and value.
The upshot is that the bowls travel on the surface
of the water, and the water carries one bowl
so that every other bowl gazes upon it. The water
carries another bowl so that every bowl runs
away instinctively, and feels ashamed seeing it.
The water inspires them to run away and
implants in them the power to move away, saying,
“O God, take us farther away.” But in the first
case they say, “O God, bring us closer to this
one.”
The person who thinks this is a general situation
says, “Both bowls are equally controlled by
the water.” We say, “If only you saw the grace,
beauty and pretty sauntering of this bowl on the
water, you would have no desire to call such
movement general.” In the same way, it would
never occur to a lover to say, “My beloved and I
are co-partners in the work and filth that results
from two people sharing a certain space with bodies
that decay.” How could anyone apply such a
cold description to their beloved?
Since you only recognize the general attributes,
not seeing our particular beauty, it is not proper
arguing with you, for our words are commingled
with beauty and it is wrong to reveal beauty to
those who do not love beauty.
This is the science of potential, it is not the science
of argumentation. Roses and fruit-blossoms
do not bloom in the autumn, for that would confront
and compete with autumn. It is not in the
nature of the rose to confront autumn. If the sun
has done its work, the rose comes out in its proper
season, otherwise it draws in its head and
retires within its stem. Autumn says to it, “If you
are not barren, confront me!” The rose says, “In
your presence I am barren and a coward. Say
whatever you will!”
O monarch of all truthful folk,
How can I be called a hypocrite?
With living people I am alive,
And with the dead as dead I sit.
If some old crone without any teeth, her face
all wrinkled like the back of a lizard, came to you
and said, “If you are a man and a true youth,
behold, I have come before you! Behold the horse
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and the fair one that sits upon it. Behold the open
field. Show manliness, if you are a man!” You
would say, “God be my refuge! I am no man.
What they have told you is all lies. If you are the
mate, unmanliness is most attractive!”
A scorpion comes and raises its stinger against
your leg, saying, “I have heard you are someone
who laughs and is happy. Laugh, so that I can
hear your laughter.” In such a case you would say,
“Now that you have come I have no laughter.
What they have told you is lies. My desire to
laugh has been replaced with the hope that you
will go far away!”
Someone said to Rumi: “When you sighed a
moment ago, the ecstasy departed. Do not sigh, so
the ecstasy will not leave.”
Rumi answered: Sometimes that ecstasy
departs if you do not sigh. Otherwise,
Mohammed would not have said,
“Abraham was a man who sighed, a merciful
man.”
Nor would it be right to show any act of obedience
to God, for all displays of obedience are
ecstasy.
You say this because you want the ecstasy to
continue. When someone induces ecstasy, you
look after them to continue your experience. This
is like shouting to a sleeper, “Arise! It is day. The
caravan is off.” Others say, “Don’t shout. She is
in ecstasy. You will drive her ecstasy away.” You
answer, “That ecstasy of sleep is destruction, this
ecstasy of wakefulness is birth and growth.” They
say, “Don’t make a confusion, for this shouting is
disturbing.” You answer, “This shouting will
make the sleeper think. How can she think while
sleeping?”
So shouting is of two kinds. If the shouters are
greater in knowledge, their shouting will cause an
increase in thought. Since they are people of
knowledge and of wakefulness, when they awaken
others out of their slumber they show the
sleepers their own world and draw them higher.
However, when the awakener is lower in awareness
and awakens others, the gaze of those sleeping
is pulled down. Since the shouter’s knowledge
is lower down, inevitably the gaze of those shouted
at drops downward to the lower world.
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People who are interested in their scholarly studies
think that if they faithfully attend our meetings
they will forget and lose all they have learned. On
the contrary, when they come here their sciences
acquire soul. For all sciences, when they acquire
soul, are like an empty body that springs to life.
The heart of knowledge originates beyond this
world of letters and language. It comes to us from
that world where speech is without sound or sign.
“And to Moses, God spoke directly.”
Well, God did not speak with letters and
sounds, with throat and tongue. Letters require a
throat and lips to be heard. God is exalted far
above lips, mouth and throat. So prophets in that
world speak with God in a way that partial intelligences
cannot imagine or understand. Yet the
prophets come down from that world without letters
into this world of letters, and become children
for the sake of these children. Thus,
Mohammed said, “I was sent as a teacher.”
discourse 42
Although the masses of people in this world do
not reach the spiritual states of the prophets, still
this world derives strength from the saints, and
grows and finds comfort in them. In the same
way, an infant, not knowing or recognizing its
mother in detail, still finds comfort and derives
strength from her. Just as the fruit is nourished by
the branch, becoming sweet and ripe, yet knows
nothing of the tree. So, the great saints, with their
letters and speech, though the masses do not
know them, still the people gain strength from the
saints and are nourished.
There is fixed within soul—beyond reason, letter
and sound—a macrocosm. But look at how
many seek out those demented gurus who make
outrageous claims. People think, “what these
gurus say may be true. Such things might exist,
even if they are wrong in this case. Not everything
can be known by reason and logic.” But this doesn’t
mean that everything outside of reason and
logic is true. “Every nut is round, but not every
round thing is a nut,” is a sign of that.
Although a saint has a state that cannot be
expressed through words and writing, still from
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the saint’s presence reason grows and develops.
This cannot be found from those demented ones
around whom the masses circle. No one who visits
them is transformed beyond their own state,
and no one finds completeness through such guidance.
People might think they have found completeness,
but that is not what we call completeness.
Just like a child who is separated from its
mother finds comfort for a moment with someone
else, this is not what we call comfort, since the
child has simply made a mistake.
Physicians say that whatever is agreeable to the
temperament and brings satisfaction gives
strength and purifies the blood. However, this is
only true when someone is without disease. For
instance, a bilious person finds sour things agreeable,
and sugar disagreeable, because their taste
has become changed by their own distemper. And
so the truly agreeable is what is agreeable to
someone before they fall sick. For example, a
woman breaks her hand and then hangs it in a
sling so that it heals all crooked. Her surgeon
must make the bones straight and set them to
their original form. This is not agreeable to the
woman. Indeed, she finds it painful. Being
crooked is much more agreeable to her. So the
surgeon says, “First of all your hand was straight,
and you found comfort in that. When you broke
it, you felt pain and suffered. Although being
crooked is more agreeable to you now, this comfort
is false and means nothing.”
Beings in the world of pure spirit find the commemoration
of God and absorption in God
agreeable, like the angels. However, if they fall
sick through connection with the body, and eating
sour things becomes agreeable to them, then the
prophets and saints who are physicians, say,
“This is not really what you want. This agreeableness
is a lie. Your real desire is for something
else that you have forgotten. What is agreeable to
your original and sound temperament is what you
truly want. But since this sickness now seems
appealing, you do not recognize the truth.”
A Sufi was seated before a grammarian. The
grammarian said, “A word must be one of three
things: either it is a noun, a verb, or a particle.”
The Gnostic tore his robe and cried, “Alas!
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Twenty years of my life striving and seeking have
gone to the winds, for I labored in the hope that
there was another word beyond this. Now you
have destroyed my hope.” Though the Sufi had
already attained the Word he sought, he said this
to arouse the grammarian.
The greater the number of guests, the larger
they make the house, the more furniture they
bring in, and the more food they prepare. This is
why the stature of little children is small, and their
thoughts too, which are their guests, are appropriate
to the house of their bodies. They know
nothing except milk and their nurses. When they
grow older the guests, their thoughts, also
increase, and their house of reason, perception
and discrimination expands. When the guests of
passionate love arrive, they are too much for the
house. They demolish it and build anew.
God’s veils and God’s scouts and troops cannot
be contained in God’s house. God’s veils cannot
hide Its door. To accommodate infinite guests, an
infinite station is required. When God’s veils are
hung, they shed light and dissolve all shadows, so
that the secret things become manifest. This is
opposite of the veils in this present world, that
add to the shadows.
I suffer wrongs that will not be said.
None will hear my excuse or cries.
Just as the candle weeps,
No one knows if the tears it sheds,
Come from its closeness to the fire
Or the longing of the bee’s wax for the honey’s sweetness, now
parted.
This whole world is the prisoner of destiny,
and destiny is the prisoner of beauty. Beauty
reveals, it does not conceal.
God has certain servants that are men who,
when they see a woman in a veil, command her,
“Remove your veil so we may see your face and
who you are. When you pass by veiled, we are
distracted, wondering, ‘What manner of person is
this that passes before us.’ We are not like those
who are attracted and enslaved by you if they see
your face. It has been a long time now that God
has made us innocent and free from such charms.
We are quite secure. You will not disturb us or
tempt us. But it is when we do not see you that we
are disturbed, wondering, ‘Who is this?’”
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These men are very different from others who
are driven by their desires. If other men see the
faces of beauty, they are captivated and become
disturbed. Therefore, it is better for these beauties
to hide themselves, so as not to tempt such men.
As for the Sufis, however, it is better to show their
faces, to spare God’s servants the distraction.
Someone said: “In Khvarizm, no one falls in
love, because in Khvarizm there are many beautiful
women. No sooner do they see a beauty and
fix their hearts on her, than they see another still
more beautiful, and the first one is forgotten.”
Rumi said: If there are no lovers for the beauties
of Khvarizm, then certainly there are lovers of
Khvarizm, itself, seeing the many beauties in that
land. But the “Khvarizm” I speak of is poverty,
where countless mystical and spiritual forms
show their faces. Each one you turn to and find
comfort in, leads to yet another more beautiful, so
that you forget all before. On and on this leads—
ad infinitum. So let us be lovers of poverty, where
such true beauties are found.
Our friend, Saif al-Bukhari has gone to Egypt.
Everyone likes a mirror, and is in love with
reflections of their own attributes and attainments,
but our friend misses the true nature of his
face. He thinks this bodily veil is a face, and the
mirror of this veil is the mirror of his face.
Uncover your face, so you can know for sure that
I am a mirror of your true self.
Someone said: “I know for a fact that the
prophets and saints are all victims of a false presumption.
There is nothing to it but mere pretense.”
Rumi said: Do you say this at random, or have
you looked into this before speaking? If you have
looked into this, then this pretension you have
seen is itself a vision, and therefore a proof of
their vision. Indeed, such knowingness is the most
precious and noblest thing in existence. The proof
of the prophets’ message is simply their own claim
to such vision, which you have acknowledged
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yourself. Such vision only manifests through great
longing and seeking. Your own statement still
portrays the existence of a seeker, desire and
vision. Thus, the relationship between seekers and
God is a case where all disclaimers of love prove
only love.
They say, “That crowd are disciples of a
dimwit, and venerate the fool.” I say, “That
‘dimwit’ of a Sheikh is no less than a stone or an
idol.” Those who worship stones venerate and
magnify them. They direct their hopes and longings
toward them, and their petitions, needs and
tears. The stone knows nothing, nor can it feel
anything of this. Yet God has made stones and
idols to be the means of devotion, of which the
stones and idols are totally unaware.
In the same way, these disciples are in love with
the image of this foolish Sheikh, and the Sheikh is
oblivious to their “banishment,” “union” and all
the phases of their love life.
If misguided and misdirected love for a phantom
can produce ecstasy, still it is nothing like the
mutual love enjoyed with a real beloved, who is
aware and wide awake to the lover’s condition.
Like the person who embraces a pillar in the dark,
thinking it to be their beloved, the pleasure they
enjoy cannot be compared with one who
embraces their living and conscious friend.
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Everyone who sets out on a journey has a particular
idea in mind: “Once I arrive I will be able to
gain advantages and improve my affairs. My business
will be set in order, my friends will be
delighted, and I shall defeat my enemies.” Such
are the ideas we have in mind, but God’s objective
is something else. We make so many plans and
think through so many ideas, and not one turns
out according to our desire. Yet even with all of
that, we continue to rely upon our own plans and
choices.
Ignoring Fate, people plot their little plans.
God’s Will does not consult with the plans of man.
This is illustrated by the woman who sees in a
dream that she has chanced into a strange city
where no one knows her, and she knows no one
else. She becomes bewildered, and depressed, saying
to herself, “Why did I come to this city where
I have no friend nor acquaintance to shake me by
the hand, or press me on the lip?” On awakening,
discourse 44
this city and its people vanish, and she realizes
that all her anguish and sorrow were over nothing.
So she disregards the state she found herself
in, thinking her worries were quite wasted.
However, the next time she falls asleep, she sees
herself in exactly such a city again, and begins to
feel the same sorrow and loneliness. She regrets
coming to such a city and doesn’t remember when
she was awake how foolish she see it was to
worry, since it was only a dream and nothing to
grieve about.
This is exactly how people are. They have seen
their desires come to nothing a hundred thousand
times. Nothing proceeds according to their intricate
plans. But God appoints an oblivion to cover
their eyes, so they forget all that has happened,
and once again they plan out their own ideas and
wills.
“God stands between people and their hearts.”
Once, when Ibrahim, son of Adham, was king,
he galloped in the track of a deer he was hunting,
until he became entirely separated from his soldiers,
leaving them far behind. His horse was
weary and covered with sweat, but still he chased
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on. After passing far into the desert wilderness,
the deer suddenly stopped, turned back its face
and said, “You were not created for this.
Beingness was not brought forth from not-being
for you to hunt me. Even if you catch me, what
will you have accomplished?”
When Ibrahim heard these words, he cried
aloud and flung himself from the horse. There
was no one in that desert except a shepherd.
Ibrahim said to him, “Take my royal robes
encrusted with jewels, my arms and my horse,
and give me your gown of coarse cloth. And
please tell no one, not even a hint to anyone, what
has become of me.” He put on the rough gown
and set out on his way. Now consider what his
intention was, and yet what his true objective
turned out to be! He wanted to catch a deer, but
God caught him by means of that deer. Therefore,
realize that in this world things happen as God
wills. His is the design, and all purpose comes
from Him.
Before becoming a Muslim, Umar entered his
sister’s house. His sister was chanting from the
Koran in a loud voice:
“TA HA: We have not sent down…”
When she saw her brother she immediately hid
the Koran, and became silent. Umar bared his
sword saying, “Tell me what you were reading
and why you hid it or this very instant I will chop
off your head!” His sister feared him, knowing his
temper when angry, and in terror for her life she
confessed, “I was reading from these words that
God revealed to Mohammed.”
“Read on, so that I can hear,” said Umar, and
she recited the whole of the Sura of Ta Ha. Umar
became furious, and in a rage he waved his
sword, saying, “If I killed you this instant, it
would be a killing of the defenseless. First I will
go and cut off Mohammed’s head, then I will
attend to you.”
In his anger, holding a naked sword, Umar set
off for the Prophet’s mosque. The chieftains of
Quraish, seeing him go by, exclaimed,
“Wonderful! Umar is after Mohammed. Surely, if
anyone can stop this new religion, Umar can.”
For Umar was a mighty and powerful man. Any
army he marched against was vanquished. In fact,
the Prophet had many times declared, “God, suc-
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cor my religion by means of Umar or Abu Jahl.”
For those two were famous in that time for
strength and heroism. Afterwards, when Umar
became a Muslim, he used to weep and say, “O
Messenger of God, woe for me if you had spoken
Abu Jahl’s name before mine. What would have
become of me then? I would have continued in
error.”
In short, Umar was on his way, with naked
sword, making for the Prophet’s mosque.
Meanwhile Gabriel revealed to Mohammed, “Lo,
Messenger of God, Umar is coming to be converted
to Islam. Take him to your bosom.” Just as
Umar entered the door of the mosque, he saw
clearly an arrow of light fly from Mohammed,
and pierce his heart. Umar uttered a loud cry and
fell down insensible. Love and passionate desire
filled him, and he wanted to dissolve himself into
Mohammed out of extreme affection, and he
became nothing. He said, “Prophet of God, offer
me your faith and speak your blessed word, so I
may hear.” Having become a Muslim, he said,
“Now, to correct my actions of coming against
you with a bared sword, and to cleanse that act,
henceforth I will give quarter to no one I hear
speaking wrongly of you. With this sword I will
strike their heads from their bodies.”
Coming out of the mosque, he suddenly
encountered his father. His father said, “You have
changed religion.” Immediately he struck off his
father’s head, and walked on holding the bloodstained
sword. The chieftains of Quraish, seeing
the blood, said to Umar, “You promised to bring
back Mohammed’s head. Where is his head?”
Umar said, “I carry it with me!” One of them
said, “You brought his head?” He answered,
“No, not that head. The head I bring is from the
other side.”
Now look at what Umar planned, and what
God brought about from those plans. Know that
all affairs turn out as God desires.
Abraham said, “O God, since you have chosen
me and honored me with the robe of Your
approval, grant this distinction to my children
also.” God declared:
“My covenant shall not reach the evildoers.”
When Abraham realized that God does not
extend His loving care to the evildoers and the
insolent, he tried to strike a bargain. He said, “O
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God, those who believe and are not evildoers—
give them a portion of Your provision.” God
declared, “My provision is common to all men
and women, and everyone shall have a share of it.
All creatures enjoy their portion of benefits from
this guesthouse. But the robe of My approval, and
the honor of ennoblement and distinction, are a
special gift for the elect and chosen ones.”
“We appointed the House to be
A place of visitation for the people,
And a sanctuary.
‘Take to yourselves Abraham’s station
For a place of prayer.’”
The literalists say that what is intended by this
“House” is the Kaaba, for in the Kaaba it is forbidden
to hunt, and no malice is allowed against
anyone. God singled out that House for Itself.
This is all perfectly true and fine, but that is the
literal interpretation of the Koran. However, the
Sufis say that the “House” is the inward part of
our beingness. In other words, “God, free my
inward self of temptation and worldly plans.
Cleanse it of passions and idle thoughts, so that
no fear can enter in and security will prevail. Let
it become completely the center of Your revelation.”
It is said that God has appointed meteors to
watch over heaven to prevent the accursed Satans
from listening to the secrets of the angels. The
meaning of this, according to esotericists, is, “O
God, appoint the guardian of Your loving care to
watch over our inward house, to drive away from
us the temptation of the Satans and the tricks of
the carnal desires.”
Everyone begins this path from their own
place. The Koran is a double-sided brocade. Some
enjoy one side, and some the other. Both are true,
since God desires that everyone should gain
benefit from it. In the same way, a woman has a
husband and a child. Each enjoys her in a different
way. The child’s pleasure is in her breast and
her milk. The husband’s pleasure is in intercourse
with her. Some people are infants of the Way—
they take pleasure in the literal meaning of the
Koran, and drink that milk. But those who have
reached years of full discretion have another
enjoyment and a different understanding of the
inner meanings of the Koran.
Abraham’s station and place of prayer is a certain
spot in the Kaaba where the literalists say
two inclinations of prayer must be performed.
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This is excellent indeed, by God. But according to
the Sufis, Abraham’s station is that inward state
where you should cast yourself into the fire for
God’s sake, reaching this place through work and
effort in God’s name. There, people can sacrifice
themselves for the sake of God, their own selves
having no place in their sight, and they cease to
tremble for themselves. To perform two inclinations
of prayer at Abraham’s station is excellent,
but let the standing be performed in this world,
and the bowing be in the other world.
The true Kaaba is the heart of the prophets and
the saints, the locus of God’s revelation. The
physical Kaaba is a branch of that. If it were not
for the heart, of what use would the Kaaba be?
The prophets and the saints forsake their own
desire and follow the desire of God. Whatever
God commands, they do. Whoever God denies
grace, to them the saints are indifferent—indeed
in their eyes such a one is an enemy.
Into Your hands we give the reins of our heart.
Whatever you declare cooked, we declare it burnt!
Everything I say is a comparison. Comparison
is one thing, and equivalence is another. We liken
God’s Light to a lamp for the sake of comparison,
and the saints are likened to the glass of that
lamp. God’s Light is not contained by any being
or space, so how can it be contained in a glass
lamp? How can the compass of His Light be contained
in a heart? Yet seeking, you find it in the
heart. Not like some box where that Light resides,
but from the heart you find that Light radiating.
Like you find your image in a mirror, yet your
image is not in the mirror itself. Still, when you
look in the mirror you see yourself.
By means of comparison all subtleties become
intelligible, and once it is intelligible the senses
can grasp it. Thus, they say that in the other
world books will fly, some into the right hand and
some into the left. There are also angels, the
Throne, Heaven and Hell, the Balance, the
Reckoning, and the Book: none of this is clear
until an analogy is given. There is no likeness to
any of these things in this world, yet through
comparison they can be known.
For example, by night all people sleep, cobbler
and king alike, judge and tailor. Once asleep, their
thoughts take wing, and no thought remains to
one of them. Then, at dawn, it is as though the
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blast of Israfil’s trumpet brings life to the atoms of
their bodies, and the thoughts of each one, like
scrolls from the next world, fly headlong towards
each person without any mistake—the tailor’s
thoughts to the tailor, the lawyer’s thoughts to the
lawyer, the blacksmith’s thoughts to the blacksmith,
the oppressor’s thoughts to the oppressor,
the thoughts of the just to the just. Does anyone
sleep through the night as a tailor, and rise by day
a cobbler? No, for that work belongs to them,
and so they take up their occupation as before.
From this you can see that the likeness of each
person continues in the other world. This makes
sense, because in this world we see the same thing.
If we continue with comparison until we reach
the end of this thread, we will witness all the
states of the next world in this world. We will
sniff out in this world all the circumstances as
they correspond to the other world, and we will
see that all things are contained in God’s omnipotence.
Many are the bones moldering in their
graves, yet enjoying the sweet repose and drunken
sleep of that enjoyment and intoxication.
These are not idle words, for the saying goes,
“May the dust lie sweet on them!” If the dust had
no awareness of sweetness, why would anyone
say such a thing?
I pray that moon-faced idol
May live a hundred years,
My faithful heart a quiver
For the shafts of her tears.
In the dust of her door my heart
So happy, happy died,
Praying, “Lord, may her dust
Forever happily abide!”
A couple are sleeping on one mattress. The
woman sees herself in the midst of a banquet, a
rose-garden and Paradise, the man sees himself in
the midst of snakes, the guardians of Hell, and
scorpions. If you investigate, you will see neither
Paradise nor Hell. Why then should it be a surprise
that the parts of some, even in the tomb,
experience pleasure, repose and intoxication,
while some are in pain, torment and agony, yet
you can see neither pleasure nor pain? Therefore,
the invisible becomes sensible through the use of
comparison.
Comparison is one thing, equivalence is another.
The Gnostics give the name “spring” to relax-
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ation, happiness and expansion. They call contraction
and sorrow “autumn.” What real resemblance
is there between happiness and spring, sorrow
and autumn? Yet without this comparison
the intellect cannot conceive and grasp the meaning.
So the Koran declares:
“Not equal are the blind and those with sight,
The shadows and the light,
The shade and the torrid heat.”
Here, faith is compared to light and unbelief to
shadows, but faith could be related to a delightful
shade and unbelief to a burning, merciless sun
boiling the brain. What resemblance is there
between the bright subtlety of faith and the light
of this world, or between the sordid gloom of
unbelief and the darkness we know at night?
Do you see this man who has fallen asleep
while we were talking? That slumber is not a sign
of heedlessness, but safety and security. Like a
caravan travelling along a difficult and dangerous
road on a dark night, they drive on in fear, lest
harm should befall them. But as soon as the voice
of a dog, or cock, reaches their ears and they find
a village, they are carefree. They stretch out their
legs and sleep sweetly. On the road, where not a
sound or murmur would disturb them, they cannot
sleep out of fear. But in the village they find
security, and with all the barking of dogs and
crowing of cocks, still they are happy and fall
asleep.
Our words also derive from community and
security, they are the sayings of prophets and
saints. When soul hears the words of those familiar
friends, it feels secure and is delivered from
any fear, for upon these words is wafted a scent of
hope and felicity.
Just as those travelers on that dark night think
that every moment thieves are mingling with their
caravan, so they desire to hear the words of their
fellow travelers and to recognize them by their
words. Once they hear their friends speak they
feel secure. The same is true with you. Because
your essence is subtle, glances are not enough for
us, but if you speak we will then hear that familiar
friend of our spirits and feel secure and at
peace. So speak!
A certain mouse inhabiting a cornfield is invisible,
being so small, but once it makes a sound,
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then people know it by means of its sound. And
so, people are utterly immersed in the cornfield of
this world, and your essence, being extremely
subtle, is invisible. So speak, that they may recognize
you.
When we long to see a certain place, our heart
goes first to experience the conditions there. Then
our heart returns and draws our body along. Now
all the men and women of this world are like bodies
in relation to the saints and the prophets, who
are the heart of this world. These beings of the
heart first journeyed to the other world, leaving
their human attributes of flesh and skin. They surveyed
the depths and heights of that world, and
traversed all the stages, until they knew the way.
Then they came back and summoned mankind,
saying, “Come to that original world! For this
world is a bleak and empty ruin compared to that
garden we have discovered.”
From this you should realize that the heart is
always attached to its beloved, and has no need to
traverse the stages, no need to fear highwaymen,
no need of the mule’s packsaddle. It is the
wretched body that is tied to these things.
I said to my heart,
“How is it you are barred from the service
Of He whose name you bless?”
My heart replied,
“You misread the signs.
I am constantly in His service,
You are the one astray.”
Wherever you are, no matter what may happen,
always strive to be a lover, a passionate lover.
Once love has become your property you will be
a lover eternally, in the grave, at the resurrection,
or in Paradise, for ever and ever. When you have
sown wheat, wheat will surely grow, stocks of
wheat will fill the shed, loaves of wheat will fill
the oven.
When Majnun wanted to write a letter to
Laila, he took a pen in his hand and wrote:
Your name is on my tongue,
Your image is within my sight,
Your memory fills my heart,
Where, then, can I write?
Your image dwells in my sight, Your name
never leaves my tongue, Your memory occupies
the depths of my soul, so where am I to write, seeing
that You are here in all these places? The pen
broke, and the page was torn.
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Many are those whose heart is full of such reality,
but they cannot express the words in terms of
speech. This is not surprising, and is no limit to
that love. On the contrary, the root of the matter
is the heart, yearning, and passion. A child is in
love with milk, and from milk it derives succor
and strength, yet the child cannot explain milk or
describe it, saying, “What pleasure I find in drinking
milk, and how weak and anguished I would
be without it.” The child has no words for it, yet
still it desires milk. Most grown people, on the
other hand, even though they might describe milk
in a thousand ways, still they find no such pleasure
or delight in milk like they did as children.
Rumi asked: What is the name of that youth?
Someone said: “Saif al-Din (“Sword of the
Faith”).
Rumi said: No one can judge a sword while it
is still in its scabbard. Truly, the Sword of the
Faith is one who defends the way, dedicates their
efforts wholly to God, who reveals rightness from
error and distinguishes truth from falsehood. But
first they correct themselves and improve their
own character: “Begin with yourself,” said the
Prophet.
So they direct all discipline first to themselves,
saying, “After all, I too am human. I have hands
and feet, ears and understanding, eyes and a
mouth. The prophets and saints—who attained
God’s favor and reached their goal—they were
human like me with reason, a tongue, hands and
feet. Why were they shown the way? Why is this
door that was opened to them, closed to me?”
Such a person corrects themselves night and day,
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and struggles, saying, “What did I do, that I have
not been accepted?” They continue until they
become the Sword of God and the Tongue of
Truth.
For example, ten people want to enter a house.
Nine find the way, but one remains outside and is
not allowed in. Certainly this person reflects
inwardly and laments, saying, “What did I do
that they would keep me out? What bad manners
am I guilty of?” That person attributes the fault to
themself and recognizes their own errors and lack
of manners. They should never say, “God has
done this to me, what can I do? It is God’s will. If
God willed it, I would be shown the way.” Such
words are tantamount to abusing God and drawing
the sword against God. Such a person would
be a Sword Against God, not the Sword of God.
God is far beyond having family or friends.
“He has not begotten, and has not been begotten,”
says the Koran. You cannot say that those
who have found the way to God were more God’s
kin, more His friends or more closely connected
to Him. No one has ever approached God except
from below.
“God is all sufficient,
You are the needy ones.”
Nearness to God is never attained, except
through devotion and submission. He is the Giver
of givers. He fills the skirt of the sea with pearls,
He clothes the thorn in the raiment of the rose,
He bestows life and spirit upon a handful of dust,
all without precedent, all without favorites. All
the world receives their share from Him.
When people hear about a generous person
who bestows valuable gifts and favors, naturally
they want to visit such a giver of wealth, in hopes
of receiving a share of that bounty. Since God’s
Grace is so well known to the entire world, why
don’t you beg of Him? Why don’t you ask Him
for robes of honor, or a rich gift? Instead, you sit
in indolence saying, “If He wants to He will give
to me.” So you never ask Him for anything.
A dog, without reason or comprehension,
when hungry, comes up to you and wags its tail as
if to say, “Give me food. I am hungry by the sight
of that food you have. Please give me some.” A
dog knows that much. Are you less than a dog?
The dog is not content to sleep in ashes and say,
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“If he wants to he will throw me some food,” but
begs and wags its tail. So should you wag your
tail and beg of God, for in the presence of such a
Giver, to ask is the expression of a wonderful
desire. If you lack good fortune, ask from One
who is not stingy, and a commander of great
wealth.
God is always near to you. Every thought and
idea you conceive, there is God—for God gave
being to that idea and thought. Yet God is so close
you cannot see It. What is so strange in that? In
every act you perform, reason guides you and initiates
your action, but you cannot see your reason.
You see its effect, but you cannot see its
essence. For instance someone goes to the baths.
Wherever they go within the baths, they feel the
heat of the fire, even though they do not see the
fire itself. When they leave the baths, then they see
the actual fire and flames. From this they know
that the heat of the baths comes from a fire.
The human being is also a huge bath, and within
itself dwells the heat of reason, spirit and the
lower self. But once you leave this bath and enter
the other world, you see the actual essences. Then
you know that intelligence comes through the
glow of reason, that fallacies and pretenses radiate
from the lower self, and the impulse of life
itself is the result of spirit. You can clearly see the
essences of all three, but as long as you are in the
bath they are invisible. You can only experience
their effect.
When we were in Samarkand, the
Khvarizmshah laid siege to Samarkand and
attacked with his army. Not far from us lived an
exceedingly beautiful girl, so lovely that none
could match her in all the city. I heard her saying,
“O God, I know You would never allow me to be
delivered into the hands of evildoers. I know You
would never permit that. I rely on You, O God.”
When the city was sacked and all its inhabitants
were taken into captivity, even the maidservants
of that woman were captured. But she was
left unharmed. For all her extreme beauty, no
man even cast eyes on her. From this, know that
whoever commits themselves to God is secure
from harm and remains in safety. No petition of
man in God’s presence is ever ignored. Therefore
beg of God, and demand what you need of God,
for your petition will not be in vain.
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“Call upon Me and I will answer you.”
A certain dervish taught his son that no matter
what he needed, “Ask it of God.” The years
passed. Then one day, while the child was alone in
the house, he became hungry. In his usual way he
said, “I want some food, I am hungry.” Suddenly
a bowl of pottage materialized, and the child ate
until he was full. When his father and mother
returned, they said, “Aren’t you hungry?” The
child answered, “I just asked for food and ate.”
His father said, “Praise be to God, that your
confidence and reliance upon God has grown so
strong!”
When Mary was born, her mother vowed to
dedicate Mary to the House of God and not to
support her. She left Mary in the Temple.
Zachariah demanded to care for the child, but
everyone wanted to do so, as well. A dispute
sprang up amongst them. Now in that time the
custom was that each party in a dispute must
throw a stick into water—the one whose stick
floated longest was deemed to prevail. It so happened
that Zachariah’s stick was the right one.
They all agreed that he had the right to care for
Mary. So every day Zachariah brought food to
the child, but he always found an exact match of
that food already at her side. He said, “Mary, I
am in charge of you. Where is this food coming
from?” Mary said, “Whenever I feel the need for
food, I ask God and He sends it to me. His bounty
and compassion are infinite. Whoever relies on
Him, their trust is not in vain.”
Now, after Zachariah saw this he prayed, “O
God, since You allow the need of this child, please
grant me my desire. Give me a son who will be
Your friend, who, without my prompting, will
walk with You and be occupied in obedience to
You.” God brought John into being, even though
his father was bent and feeble, and his mother
was very old and had not borne a single child
while she was young. Still, she became pregnant
and gave birth.
Don’t you see that all these things are but an
occasion for the display of God’s omnipotence?
Everything came from Him, and His will must
always come to pass. The believer knows that
behind this wall there is Someone who is aware of
every circumstance in our lives, one by one, and
who sees us though we do not see Him. But those
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who say, “No, this is all a tale,” they cannot
believe. The day will come when they will realize
their error.
For instance, you are playing the rebec. Even if
you can not see anyone, if you know people are
behind this wall listening, you will continue playing,
for you are a rebec player. After all, the purpose
of prayer is not standing, bowing and prostrating
all day, for those moments of spiritual
union that possess you in prayer should always be
with you. Whether asleep or awake, writing or
reading, in any moment, you should not be far
from the remembrance of God.
Speaking and keeping silent, sleeping and eating,
being enraged and forgiving—all these attributes
should be like the turning of a water mill.
Surely the mill revolves because of water, and it
knows this, since it has tried to move without
water. Any mill that believes it is the source of its
own turning is the epitome of foolishness and
ignorance.
Now this revolving occurs within a narrow
space, for that is the nature of this material world.
Therefore, say to God, “O God, grant me another
turning that is spiritual, since all needs are
fulfilled by You.” Therefore bring your needs to
Him constantly, and never be without His remembrance,
for the remembrance of God is strength,
feathers and wings to a bird of spirit.
Through remembrance of God, little by little
the inward heart becomes illumined and detached
from the outward world. Just as a bird that tries
flying to heaven, even though it never reaches that
goal, yet every moment it rises farther from the
earth and outsoars the other birds. Or for
instance, some musk is in a jar, but the mouth of
that jar is too small, and when you reach in you
cannot remove the musk. Still, your hand is perfumed
and your nostrils are fulfilled. So it is with
the remembrance of God: although in this
moment you do not attain the Essence of God,
still it leaves its mark on you, and you gain the
great benefits that go with that mark.
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Sheikh Ibrahim is a noble dervish. When we see
him, we are reminded of our beloved friends. Our
Master Shams used to refer to him as “our Sheikh
Ibrahim,” showing his affection.
Divine favor is one thing, but personal effort is
another. The prophets did not attain prophethood
through personal effort—they gained that fortune
through Divine grace. Yet God still required the
prophets to live a life of personal effort and
virtue. This was for the sake of the common people,
so they could put reliance on the prophets
and their words. The gaze of ordinary people cannot
penetrate into the inward heart—they see
only the outward show. Yet, following those
externals, through the Divine blessings bestowed
on those forms, people find the way to the internal.
After all, even Pharaoh made personal efforts
of charity and noble acts, but since God’s favor
was not present, his generosity and beneficence
discourse 46
remained hidden. Like a military commander
who is in charge of a fortress, even when he is
kind and generous to the people, if his plan is to
throw off allegiance to the king and become a
rebel, his kindnesses lose all their worth and luster.
Nevertheless, we should not entirely deny
God’s favor to Pharaoh. God’s grace might have
been secret, causing Pharaoh to be rejected for a
good purpose. For a king is both vengeful and
gracious. He bestows both robes of honor and
prison terms. The Sufis do not deny God’s favor
to Pharaoh completely. The literalists, however,
consider Pharaoh wholly rejected, and this is fine
for the proper maintenance of the external teaching.
When a king puts a man on the gallows, he
hangs him up high in the presence of the assembled
people. He could also suspend him indoors,
hidden from everyone, by a low nail, but it is necessary
for the people to see and take warning. The
execution of the king’s decrees, and the carrying
out of his orders should be visible. But not every
gallows consists of wood. High rank and worldly
fortune are also a gallows, and a very high one.
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When God desires to chastise someone, He grants
them high rank in the world and a great kingdom,
like Pharaoh, Nimrod and the rest. All those eminent
positions are like the gallows from which
God hangs people for others to gaze upon and
understand.
For God declares, “I was a hidden treasure,
and I desired to be known.” This is to say, “I created
all the world to manifest My Reality, now
through graciousness, now through severity.”
God is not the kind of king for whom one voice is
sufficient. If every atom in the world became
God’s herald, they would still be unable to properly
proclaim His Truth.
Therefore, day and night people are forever
revealing God, but while some understand this,
others are unaware. In either case, the manifestation
of God’s will is certain. For example, a prince
orders a man to be beaten, and the man screams
and shouts with pain. Still, everyone sees that
both beater and beaten are revealing the prince’s
authority.
Whoever acknowledges God is revealing God
continually, and whoever denies God is also
revealing God. For how can anything be demonstrated
without its opposites? Besides, it would be
wholly without pleasure and enjoyment. Thus,
someone who loves controversy proposes a
motion at a meeting, but if there is no reaction or
argument, what can he say in return, and what
joy is there in that? For a proclamation is only
meaningful in the face of its own negation. In the
same way, this world is a declaration of God.
Without a proposer and an opposer this declaration
would seem pale and lifeless.
“The believers are like a single soul.”
Dervishes are joined as if by a single body. If
one member feels pain, all the others are distressed.
An eye gives up its seeing, the ear its hearing,
the tongue its speech—all meet in that one
body. True friendship is to sacrifice oneself for
one’s friend. To plunge into danger for our
friend’s sake. For all are headed towards one and
the same goal. All are drowned in one and the
same sea. This is the effect of faith, and submission
to God. What is the load they carry with
their bodies compared to that load they carry
with their souls?
Once the believer surrenders to God, why
should they give a thought to distress and danger,
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to hands and feet? If their journey is to God, what
use do they have for limbs? God gave you hands
and feet to travel in this world, but when travelling
to that One who makes hands and feet, what
does it matter if you trip and stumble, or like
Pharaoh’s sorcerers go crawling on your belly?
What cause for grief is that?
Poison is good to sup
When the fair one fills the cup.
Bitter words are sweet to hear
When the speaker is most dear.
Full of pleasure is my love
With that salty wit I know of.
Very pleasing is its smart
Rubbed into my wounded heart.
And God knows best.
God wills both good and evil, but only blesses the
good. His Law both commands and prohibits, but
commandment is only valid when it is opposed to
natural desires. If someone says, “Hungry one,
eat sweetness and sugar,” that is not commandment,
but a benefaction. Prohibition works in the
same way. No one says, “Don’t eat stones, don’t
eat thorns,” because there is no need to prohibit
when there is no desire.
Therefore, for commandments and prohibition
against evil to do any good, people must desire
evil. And to will the existence of people who
desire evil, is to will evil. But God does not
approve of evil, otherwise He would not have
commanded the good. This is like those who like
to teach—they hope their pupils are ignorant, for
they cannot teach unless their pupils need to
learn. To desire a thing is to desire the need for
that thing. But no teacher approves of their students’
ignorance, or why would they teach?
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It is the same with doctors: they want illness to
exist, since they could not display their medical
skill unless people were sick. But they do not
approve of illness, otherwise they would never
treat it. Similarly, bakers want people to be hungry
so they can ply their trade and earn a living,
but they do not approve of hunger, otherwise they
would not sell bread.
This is why commanders and cavalry want
their king to have an opponent and an enemy.
How else can they show their bravery and love
for the king? The king would never muster them,
having no need. But they do not approve of the
king’s enemy, or they would not fight. Therefore,
we should respect the evil desires within ourselves,
because God loves those who are grateful
and obedient to His Law, and this means nothing
without the existence of those desires within us.
Yet, we should not approve of those evil tendencies,
but struggle hard to overcome their
influence.
Hence, we can see that God wills evil in one
respect, but does not will it in another. Our opponents
say, “God does not will evil in any way
whatever.” That is impossible. How could He will
a thing and not will the need for that thing?
Amongst the needs that God has created is this
headstrong nature in humanity that longs to
believe such foolishness as what our opponents
say, thus leading people away from truth. The
lessons needed by such people are all the evils that
exist in this material world. Did God not will
those evils? However, if God had approved those
evils, He would not have issued commandments
and prohibitions against them. This proves that
evil is willed for the sake of something greater.
But they still say, “God wills only good, and
amongst such good things is abstaining from evil.
Therefore, God desires only the averting of evil.”
But evil cannot be averted unless evil exists. Or
they say, “God wills only faith,” but faith cannot
exist except after disbelief, so disbelief is a prerequisite
to faith. Therefore, willing evil is only
bad when it is willed for its own sake. When evil
is willed for the sake of some good, then it is
good.
In the Koran it says, “In retaliation there is life
for you.” Now, obviously retaliation is evil, being
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an attack against God’s creation. But this is a partial
evil, while guarding people from the need for
future killing is a complete good. To create a partial
evil for the good of all is not wrong, but to
partially abandon God’s will while allowing evil
to succeed, is wrong indeed. This is like the mother
who does not want to scold her child because
of the partial evil in punishment, but the father
knows he must punish to avert that evil from taking
control, and to nip the trouble in the bud.
God is All-pardoning, All-forgiving and
Terrible in retribution. Does He will that all these
names should be true of Him? The answer must
be “yes,” because He cannot be All-pardoning
and All-forgiving without the existence of sin.
Thus, He commands us to be forgiving and to
make peace, but this commandment has no meaning
without the existence of anger and war.
This is similar to Sadr al-Islam’s statement that
we are commanded to earn and acquire wealth,
because in the Koran it says, “And expend in the
way of God.” Since it is impossible to spend
money unless one has money, then this is also a
commandment to acquire money. It is the same
when a man calls out, “Arise and pray.” This is a
charge to perform the ritual cleaning with water,
and all the functions that precede prayer as well.
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When God loves people He afflicts them. If they
endure with fortitude, He chooses them. If they
are grateful, He elects them. Some men and
women are grateful to God for His wrathfulness
and some for His graciousness. Both are good, for
gratitude is the antidote for all occasions, changing
wrath into grace. The wise and complete servant
is grateful for harsh treatment, both publicly
and in private, for with the voice of gratitude
comes the inspiration to give more. Even if God
sends them to the lowest reaches of Hell, through
gratitude God’s purpose is advanced.
Outward complaining is a reflection of inward
complaining to God. Mohammed said, “I laugh
as I slay.” That means, “My laughter in the face
of attackers slays their anger and hatred.”
Laughter, here, is gratitude in place of complaining.
It is related that a certain Jew lived next door
to one of the Companions. This Jew lived in an
upper room, from which all kinds of dirt and
discourse 48
filth, the piddle of his children, the water his
clothes were washed in, fell into the Muslim’s
apartment below. Yet the Muslim always thanked
the Jew, and instructed his family to do the same.
For eight years this continued, until the Muslim
died. Then the Jew, while visiting the Muslim’s
apartment, to condole with the family, saw all the
filth and how it came from his upper room. He
realized what had happened during the past years,
and was filled with sorrow. He said to the
Muslim’s household, “Why on earth didn’t you
tell me? Why did you always thank me?” They
replied, “Our father told us to always be grateful,
and chided us if we ever gave up being grateful.”
So the Jew became a believer.
Examples of virtuous women and men
Encourage the development of virtues within,
Like the melodious minstrel’s rhyme
Inspires the passing of wine.
For this reason, God, who is All-powerful and
All-forgiving, thanked His prophets and servants
for what they did for Him. Now, gratitude for
milk to drink is a blessing, but gratitude for those
who suck the breast is a Divine blessing. Although
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the breast is full, until you suck it the milk does
not flow.
Someone asked: “What is it that prevents gratitude?”
Rumi answered: Inordinate greed, for no matter
how much people have, greed wants more.
Since they get less than what their heart is set
upon, they cannot be grateful. But people are
unaware of their own defect, and they cannot see
the flaw that taints the coin they offer.
Greed is like eating raw meat—inevitably it
makes you sick. Once we realize we have eaten
something rotten, a purge becomes necessary.
God, in His wisdom, makes us suffer through
ingratitude to purge and rid us of that corrupt
conceit, lest that one sickness becomes a hundred
sicknesses.
“And we tried them with good things and evil,
That gratefully they should return.”
That is to say, “We planned for people in ways
they do not know, such as when they avoid seeing
secondary causes as partners with God.” It is for
this reason that Abu Yazid said, “Lord, I have
never associated anything else with You.” And
God said, “O Abu Yazid, not even on the night of
the milk? You said one night, ‘This milk has done
me harm.’ It is I who create all harm and benefit.”
Abu Yazid had seen the secondary causes as separate
from God, so God showed him up as a
believer in many causes and said, “It is I who
harmed you, after the milk and before the milk. I
made that milk so you would sin, and I made that
harm as a correction to teach you, like a teacher’s
punishment.”
When a teacher says, “Don’t eat the fruit,” if
the students eat it, and the teacher beats them on
the soles of their feet, it is not right for the pupils
to say, “We ate the fruit and it hurt our feet.” In
the same way, whoever refuses to acknowledge
that all things are partners to God, God uses
ingratitude to cleanse their spirit from the weeds
of believing in many causes. A little with God is
much.
The difference between giving praise and giving
thanks is that thanks are given for benefits we
receive. No one says, “I give thanks for that person’s
beauty and bravery.” Praise giving is less
personal.
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Rumi said: A man was leading the prayers, and
chanted from the Koran:
“The Bedouins are stubborn in unbelief and
hypocrisy.”
By chance a Bedouin chieftain was present. He
gave the chanter a good box on the ears. During
the second genuflection, the leader of the prayers
chanted a different quote from the Koran:
“Some of the Bedouins believe in God
and the Last Day.”
The Bedouin exclaimed, “Ha! That slap has
taught you better manners!”
Every moment we receive a slap from the
unseen world. Whatever our plans—one slap and
we take another course. As the saying goes, “We
have no power of our own, it is all a swallowing
up and a vomiting.” The meaning of “swallowing”
is descending into this lower world and
becoming a part of it. The meaning of “vomiting”
is expelling falsehood out of the heart. For
discourse 49
instance, if people eat food that turns sour in their
stomach, they vomit it. If they did not cast out
that poison, it would become a part of them.
The disciple dances and serves to find a place
in the heart of the sheik. Anything the disciple
does that displeases the sheik is cast forth from
the sheik’s heart, like the food we eat and then
vomit. Just as bad food would become part of us,
unless we rejected it, so that disciple’s poor conduct
in time would become a part of the sheik,
unless the sheik cast such actions out of their
heart.
God’s love was proclaimed to the world
And every heart into confusion was hurled,
Those hearts were burned and into ashes turned
Then to the indifferent wind their ashes spurned.
In that wind of indifference the atoms of those
hearts are dancing and singing. If they are not,
then how do we hear their song, and who is it
every moment that tells their tale anew? And if
these hearts do not realize their very life consists
in burning up and spurning to the wind, how is it
they are so eager to be burned? As for those
hearts burned up in the fire of worldly lusts and
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turned into ashes, do you hear any sound or see
any luster from them?
The poet, Urwa ibn Adhina, wrote, “I know
well the way God provides our daily bread. What
use is there in running about here and there with
no purpose? Truly, when I forget about money,
food, clothing and the desires of lust, my daily
portion comes to me. But when I run after those
desires, they only bring me pain and wear me out.
If I sit where I belong, with patience, my needs are
fulfilled without pain and distress. For truly, my
daily supply is also seeking me and tugging at me.
When it cannot pull me it comes to me, just as
when I cannot attract it I go after it.”
The upshot of these words is this: absorb yourself
with the World to come so that World will
pursue you. “Sitting” means to sit detached from
this world while being absorbed in the affairs of
the world to come. Those who run for the sake of
the other World, they are truly seated. If they are
seated for the sake of the present world, they are
running. The Prophet said, “Whoever reduces all
their cares to a single care, God fulfills all their
other needs.” If someone is plagued by ten cares
let them worry only about that care for the other
World, and God will untangle those other nine
knots without any effort.
The prophets cared nothing about fame and
daily bread. Their only care was God’s approval,
and yet they received both daily bread and fame.
Whoever seeks God’s pleasure will become bedfellows
with the prophets, in this world and the
next.
“They are with those whom God has blessed,
Prophets, people of the path and heaven’s guests.”
“I sit with those who remember Me.” If God
did not sit with them, the yearning for God would
never have entered their hearts. The scent of the
rose cannot exist without the rose. The scent of
musk never exists without the musk.
There is no end to these words. Even if they do
end, still they are not like other words.
The night’s departed, still, my friend,
Our story’s not yet at an end.
The night and darkness of this world passes
away while the light of these words becomes
clearer. Even though the night of the prophets’
lives have set, still the light of their discourse has
not left, nor ended, nor ever will.
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People said about Majnun, “He loves Laila,
what is so strange in that? After all, they were
children together and went to the same school.”
Majnun said, “They are fools. What pretty
woman is not desirable?”
Is there any man whose heart is not stirred by
a lovely woman? It is love that feeds our heart,
just as the sight of mother, father and brother, the
pleasure of children, the pleasure of lust—all
forms of delight are rooted in love. Majnun was
an example of all lovers, just as in grammar other
sentences are quoted.
Feast on sweetmeats or on roast,
Drink the wine that you love most.
What’s that savor on your lips?
Water that a dreamer sips!
When tomorrow you arise,
And great thirst upon you lies,
Little use will be that deep
Draught you’ve taken while asleep.
The delights of this world are the same as people
who eat while asleep. They chase after worldly
needs just as if they were looking for something
in a dream. Even if they find it, once they are
awake what good will it do them if they have
eaten while asleep? Yet, still, what they ask for in
their sleep they are given, for “The present is proportionate
to the request.”
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Someone said: “We have studied all aspects of the
human condition one by one, and not so much as
a single hair-tip of human temperament, or people’s
hot and cold nature, has escaped our notice.
Yet, we still have not discovered what aspect of
the human being survives death.”
Rumi said: If such knowledge were attainable
merely by asking others, there would be no need
for the effort and the work, and no one would put
themselves through such pain and sacrifice to
know. For example, people come to the sea, and
see nothing but salt water, sharks and fishes. They
say, “Where is this pearl others speak about?
Perhaps there is no pearl.” How can the pearl be
gained merely by looking at the sea? Even if they
measured out the sea, cup by cup, a hundred
thousand times, they would never find the pearl.
A diver is needed to discover that pearl, and not
just any diver, but a diver who is both fortunate
and nimble.
discourse 50
Humanity’s sciences and arts are like measuring
the ocean with a cup. To find the pearl calls
for something else. There are people gifted with
every skill, with wealth and good looks to boot,
yet this vital quality is not in them. There are others
who are outwardly a wreck, who have neither
good looks nor elegant speech, yet in them is this
element that is immortal. By this element we are
ennobled and honored, and become superior to
all other creatures. Leopards, crocodiles, and
lions each have their own peculiar skills and abilities,
but these qualities will not survive. When a
person discovers the essential element, they attain
the secret of their own eternal reality.
The accomplishments of the human race are
like jewels on the back of a mirror. The mirror’s
face has no jewels, it must be crystal clear.
Whoever has an ugly face eagerly looks for the
jewels, since the mirror’s face shows every dark
secret.
A friend of Joseph returned from a far journey.
Joseph asked, “What present have you brought
me?” The friend replied, “What is there you do
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not possess? What could you need? Since no one
exists more handsome than you, I have brought a
mirror so that every moment you may gaze in it
upon your own face.”
What is there that God does not possess? What
does He need? Therefore, bring before God a
heart, crystal clear, so that He may see His own
perfection. “God looks not at your form, nor at
your deeds, but at your heart.”
You find a city with everything you desire,
beautiful people, pleasures, all that people crave,
and ornaments of every kind, but you find not
one generous person. The opposite would be better
than this!
That city is the human being. If in us are a hundred
thousand talents, but not that essential element,
better if that city were in ruins. But when
that vital quality is there, the outward display
matters not—our secret heart will be well furnished.
In every state our heart is with God, and
our outward work does not hinder our inward
occupation. In the same way, whether a pregnant
woman finds herself at peace or war, sleeping or
eating, the child in her womb is still nourished
and continues to grow. The human being is also
carrying that secret.
“We offered the Trust to the heavens,
The earth and the mountains,
But they refused to carry it, and were afraid;
Yet humanity carried it. Surely they are sinful,
And very foolish.”
But God does not leave us in sin and foolishness.
Out of our physical life comes companionship,
families, and a thousand familiar friendships.
If this Trust that humanity carries also produces
friendships and knowledge, what is so
strange in that? What rises from a person after
death? Look in their secret heart. Their secret
heart is like the root of a tree—although hidden,
its influence appears in the leaves and branches. If
a branch or two is broken when the root is whole,
they will grow again, but if the root is damaged,
neither bough nor leaf remains.
A farmer from the country came to visit and
stay in the house of a friend in town. The town’s
person offered their friend halvah, which the
guest ate with gusto. The farmer said, “O friend,
night and day I eat carrots. Now that I have tast-
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ed halvah, the pleasure of eating carrots has disappeared.
But where I live I can not find halvah
every day. What am I to do?” Once a farmer has
tasted halvah, they yearn for the place where it is
made. The town’s person has carried their heart
away. What can they do? They come looking for
their heart.
Some people, when they greet you, the smell
of smoke comes from their greeting. Some,
when they speak, the smell of musk lingers on.
Only those with a sensitive nose know the difference.
We must test our friends, so that in the end we
have no cause for regret. Here is another of God’s
rules: “Begin with yourself.” If you claim to be
humble and serve God, do not accept this claim
without testing it. When people wash, first they
lift some water to their nose and then they taste it.
Simply looking at the water is not enough, for
water may have the appearance of purity, but its
taste and smell will prove if it is infected. Once
the test is done, then they wash their faces.
Whatever you keep hidden in your heart, God
manifests in you outwardly. Whatever the root of
the tree feeds on in secret, affects the bough and
the leaf.
“Their mark is on their faces.”
The Koran also says:
“We shall brand them upon the muzzle!”
If you want no one to see into your thoughts,
then how will you hide the flush of color on your
face?
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Rumi said:
Until you see, how can you find?
This is true for all but Lovers:
For how can they seek the Beloved,
Being blind,
Until they have discovered?
The human quest consists of seeking for what
has not yet been found. Night and day people are
searching for that. But the quest that begins after
our desire has been found and attained, that is a
strange quest indeed, beyond our imagination and
comprehension. The worldly quest is searching
for something new, something not yet experienced,
but this other quest begins with what we
have already found and then desire. This is God’s
quest, for God is the Finder.
O friend, so long as you thirst for what is created
in time, you are far from your goal. But, once
your quest passes away into God’s quest and Its
Quest overrides your own, then you have been
found. Then you can truly seek.
discourse 51
A student said: “There is no way to prove who
is a friend of God and who has attained union
with God. Neither words, nor deeds, nor miracles,
nor anything else can offer proof. For words
can be mimicked, with practice. As for deeds and
miracles, there are those who can read a person’s
inmost thoughts, and display many wonders
through magic.”
Rumi asked: Do you believe in anyone or not?
The student answered: “Yes, by God. I both
believe and love.”
Rumi said: Is this belief of yours, in that person,
founded on proof and token? Or did you
simply shut your eyes and take up that person?
The student said: “God forbid that my belief
should be without proof and token.”
Rumi said: Then why do you say there is no
proof or token leading to belief? You have contradicted
yourself.
Another person said: “Every saint and great
mystic has said, ‘I enjoy a nearness with God and
Divine favor that no one else has known before.’”
Rumi answered: Who made this statement—a
saint, or someone else? If it was a saint, then they
knew that every saint has had this belief, so how
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could a saint believe they are the only recipient of
Divine favor? However, if someone other than a
saint made this statement, then in truth that one
is the friend and elect of God, for God has kept
this experience from all the saints but has not hidden
it from that one.
The same person tried to support their statement
with a parable: “Once there was a king with
ten concubines. The concubines said, ‘We want to
know which of us is dearest to the king.’ The king
declared, ‘Tomorrow this ring shall be in the
room of whomever I love best.’ Next day the king
commanded ten rings to be made identical with
that ring, and gave one ring to each maiden.”
Rumi said: The question still stands. This story
provides no answer, and changes nothing. The
statement, “The king loves me best,” was made
by one of the ten maidens, or by someone else. If
one of the ten maidens made this statement, and
she knew that each of the maidens had been given
a ring just like hers, then how could she feel that
she was loved best? However, if this statement
was made by someone other than those ten maidens,
then that person was truly shown the king’s
favor and special love.
Someone said: “A true lover must be submissive
and abject and long-suffering.” And they listed
other qualities.
Rumi said: Should the lover be like that
whether the beloved wishes it or not? If the lover
is this way against the desire of the beloved, then
they are no lover but merely following their own
desire. If the lover accepts the desire of the
beloved, then when their beloved does not want
them to be submissive and abject, how could they
be submissive and abject? Therefore, the states
affecting the lover are unknown, and we can only
know how the beloved wishes us to be.
Jesus said, “I wonder at the living creature that
can eat a living creature.” The literalists say that
this refers to people eating the flesh of animals.
This is an error. Why? Because when people eat
flesh, it is not animal any longer, but inanimate.
Once the animal is killed, the living spirit is gone
from that flesh. The true meaning of this saying is
that the Sheikh mysteriously consumes the disciple.
I wonder at a process so extraordinary!
Someone asked the following question:
“Abraham said to Nimrod, ‘My God brings the
dead to life and turns the living into the dead.’
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Nimrod said, ‘When I banish people, it is the
same as causing them to die, and when I appoint
someone to a post it is as if I brought them to life.’
Then Abraham gave up this argument, being
compelled to yield to Nimrod’s point. He then
embarked on another line of reasoning, saying,
‘My God brings the sun up from the east and
sends it down in the west. Do the opposite of
that!’ Isn’t this argument at odds with the other?”
Rumi answered: God forbid that Abraham
could have been silenced by Nimrod and left
without any answer! The truth is that Abraham
used his second statement to show how God
brings life out of the womb of the east, and sends
it back to death in the tomb of the west.
Abraham’s argument was presented with perfect
consistency. God creates us anew every moment,
bringing something perfectly fresh into our inner
heart. God’s first moment is nothing like His second,
neither is His second moment like the third.
Yet people, being unconscious of themselves, do
not see this birth and death.
Sultan Mahmud was given a fine horse, with
an exquisite shape. Next festival day he rode that
horse, and all the people sat on their rooftops to
see him and enjoy the spectacle. But one drunken
fellow wouldn’t move from his apartment. By
force, they carried him up to the roof, saying,
“Come and look at the Sultan’s horse!” He said,
“I am busy with my own affairs. I don’t want to
see it.” But he could not escape. So he sat there on
the edge of the roof, extremely drunk, as the
Sultan passed by.
When the drunken fellow saw the Sultan on
the horse he cried out, “What do I care about this
horse? Why, this very moment if that horse were
mine and a minstrel sang even one song, I would
give it to him.” Hearing this, the Sultan became
extremely angry and had the man thrown into
prison. A week passed. Then the man sent a message
to the Sultan, saying, “What is my crime?
What sin did I commit? Let the King of the World
state the case so his servant can be informed.”
The Sultan ordered the man to be brought into
his presence. He said, “You insolent rogue, how
could you utter such words? How dare you speak
so rudely?” The man answered, “King of the
World, it was not I who spoke those words. In
that moment a drunken manikin was sitting on
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the edge of the roof and spoke those words. This
hour I am not that fellow. I am an intelligent and
sensible man.” The Sultan was delighted by his
answer and conferred on him a robe of honor and
ordered his release.
Whoever joins us and becomes drunk on this
wine, no matter where they go, or whoever they
visit, in reality their moments are still spent with
us. For the coolness of strangers reminds us of our
own friends’ gracious company, and mingling
with those who do not know this wine stimulates
love and desire for those who do.
This is why people prize other fruits above
sugar, saying, “We have tasted so much bitterness
that we attained the rank of sweetness.” How can
you know the delight of sweetness until you have
suffered the bitter?
Rumi was asked the meaning of the following
lines:
When love attains its ultimate goal
Desire turns to dislike.
Rumi explained: Dislike is a narrow world
compared to friendship. That is why people run
from hatred to find friendship. But the world of
friendship is itself narrow next to the Source of
both friendship and dislike. Friendship and enmity,
unbelief and faith—these are all opposites that
lead to duality. Yet a world exists where there is
no duality but only pure unity, and when we
reach that world we are beyond friendship and
dislike. There is no room for two in that world.
When we arrive there, we leave duality behind.
The world of freedom we loved and struggled for
is narrow next to that state where no opposites
exist. Therefore, we no longer desire it, and are
repulsed by it.
When Mansur al-Hallaj reached his utmost
friendship with God, he became his own enemy
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and gave away his life. He said, “I am God,”
meaning, “I have passed away. God alone
remains.” This is extreme humility. Your saying,
“Thou art God, and I am Your servant,” is arrogance,
for you have affirmed your own existence,
and created dualism. To say, “He is God,” is still
duality, for until “I” exists “He” is impossible.
Therefore it was God alone who said, “I am
God,” since Mansur had passed away.
The world of imagination is greater than facts
and concepts, for all concepts are born of imagination.
Yet imagination itself is narrow compared
to that world from which imagination is born.
This is the limit of explanations, for that reality
cannot be made known by words and expressions.
Someone asked: “Then what is the use of
expressions and words?”
Rumi answered: Words set you searching.
They are not the objects of your quest. If that
were the case, there would be no need for all this
spiritual struggle and self-sacrifice. Words are like
glimpsing something far away. You follow in its
trail to see it better, but this doesn’t mean the trail
is what you are seeking. Speech is inwardly the
same—it excites you to seek the meaning, even
though the words are never the reality.
The other day someone said, “I have studied
many sciences and mastered many ideas, yet I still
do not know what essence in the human being
exists forever. I have searched, but I have not discovered
it.”
If such things were knowable through words
alone, you would never need to pass away from
your self and suffer such pains. But if you did not
endure the struggle of losing your temporary self,
how could you ever know that essence which will
remain?
A boy says, “I have heard about the Kaaba, but
no matter how far I look I can not see it. I will go
up to the roof and search from there.” When he
gets to the roof and stretches out his neck, he still
can not see the Kaaba, so he rejects that any
Kaaba exists. To see the Kaaba takes more than
that. It is impossible to see it from the place where
one abides.
In the same way, during winter, you hunt for a
fur jacket with all your soul, but when summer
arrives you fling it away and forget about it. You
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sought the coat for the warmth. You were in love
with warmth. In winter you can not find warmth
and therefore need the medium of the coat, but
once the summer sun starts to shine, you fling the
fur jacket away.
“When heaven is rent asunder,” and “When
earth is shaken with a mighty shaking,” are references
to yourself. They mean that you have experienced
the pleasure of being gathered together,
but the day is coming when you will experience
the pleasure of being torn apart. Then you will
behold the expanse of the other world and be
delivered from this present narrowness. For
instance, if someone is held down by four nails
for a long time, they start to feel comfortable with
this condition, and forget the pleasure of being
free. After they escape the four nails, then they
realize the torment they had been in. Similarly,
children are swaddled and put to rest in a cradle,
and they are perfectly at ease with their hands
bound. But if a grown person were cribbed in a
cradle, it would be torment and prison.
Some feel pleasure when roses bloom and push
forth their heads from the bud. Some feel pleasure
when the petals of the rose become scattered by
the wind and rejoin their origin. Therefore, some
people want friendship, passion, unbelief and
faith all to dissolve and return to their source. For
these are walls of form cause narrowness and
duality, while the other world is broadness and
absolute unity.
These words of themselves have no power.
How can they be powerful? They are merely
words. In fact, in themselves they can become a
cause of weakness. Yet they inspire some to truth.
Words are a veil. How can two or three letters
combined together cause life and excitement?
When people come to visit and you greet them
politely, and welcome them, they are happy and
feel affection. If you receive them with two or
three words of abuse, those two or three words
cause them anger and pain. Now what connection
is there between stringing together a few words
and an increase in affection, or provocation of
anger? God appointed these veils so that no one’s
gaze can fall upon Its beauty and perfection.
Weak veils are appropriate to weak eyes.
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Bread in reality is not the cause of life, but God
has made it appear to be the cause of life and
strength. After all, bread has no human life of
itself, so how can it create strength? If it had any
life at all, it would have kept itself alive.
Rumi was asked the meaning of the following
lines from his Masnavi:
You are that very thought, my brother:
Those bones and nerves are something other.
Rumi said: You should think about this. “That
very thought” in reality is not “thought” at all,
and if it is, it does not belong to the kind of
thought that people usually mean by the term. In
using the word “thought” my intention was the
“idea” or “essential element.” If you need to put
this “idea” into a more humdrum way so that
common people can understand, then say: “The
human being is a speaking animal.”
Speech is thought, whether spoken or not. The
rest of the human being is animal. Therefore, it is
perfectly true to say people consist of thought,
and the rest is “bones and nerves.” Speech is like
the sun, all people derive warmth and life from
the sun, and the sun is always there. The entire
world is warmed by the sun, yet the sun’s rays are
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not always visible. When thought is expressed
through word or sign, be it thanks or complaint,
good or evil, then the sun of speech becomes visible,
just as the rays of the celestial sun become visible
when they shine upon a wall.
So, the rays from that sun of speech only
appear through the medium of letters and sounds.
Though always present—for that sun is subtle,
and “He is the All-subtle”—some element of
grossness is required for it to become visible and
apparent.
A certain man said that “God” had no meaning
for him, the word left him bewildered and
frozen. When they said, “This is God’s Creation,
these are His Commandments, and these are His
Laws,” then he felt the warmth of those rays. So,
although God’s subtlety always existed and shone
upon that man, until they explained it to him
through the medium of Commandment, Creation
and Law, he was unable to see.
There are some people, who, due to illness,
cannot use honey. Yet through the medium of
some other food, such as mixed into rice dressed
with turmeric or halvah, they can eat it. Once
they recover from their illness, however, then they
can take honey without any medium.
Therefore, speech is a subtle sun shining continually,
without ceasing, and we need some gross
medium in order to see and enjoy it. But, once
you can see those rays and that subtlety without
any gross medium, then you find wonderful colors
and marvelous spectacles in the depths of that
sea. Yet what is so amazing about that? For
speech is always within you, whether you actually
speak or not, even if you have no thought of
speaking.
Philosophers say, “The human being is a
speaking animal.” Animality is always within you
as long as you are living, just as speech is always
within you. Chewing is one expression of animality,
it is not a state of itself. In the same way,
speaking and talking are only reflections of
“Speech.”
People have three spiritual states. In the first
they have no thought of God at all, but worship
and pay service to everything else: friends and
lovers, wealth and children, stones and clods.
Once they gain a little knowledge and awareness,
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then they serve nothing but God. Yet, after learning
and seeing more they enter a state of silence.
They do not say, “I serve God,” nor “I do not
serve God,” for they have transcended both. No
sound issues from these people into the world.
“God is neither present nor absent,
For God is the Creator of both.”
All words, all sciences, all skills, all professions
derive their flavor and relish from Speech. The
end of that chapter cannot be known, however,
for they are only expressions, and not the state of
itself. This is illustrated by the man, who in seeking
the hand of a wealthy and beautiful woman,
looks after her sheep and horses, and waters her
orchards. Though his time is occupied with those
services, their flavor derives from the woman. If
the woman were to disappear, those tasks would
become cold and lifeless. In this same way, all
professions and sciences derive life, pleasure and
warmth from the rays of the Saints’ inspiration.
But for their inspiration, all tasks would be utterly
without relish and enjoyment.
Rumi said: When I first began composing poetry,
a great urge compelled me. At that time the urge
was strong. Now the desire has grown weaker
and is declining, but still it has its effect. Such is
the way of God. He gives life to things in the time
of their rising, producing great results and wisdom,
yet in declining His influence still has its
force. “The Lord of the East and the West,”
means, “He fosters both the rising and declining.”
The Mutazilites believe that people create their
own acts; that every deed springs out of our own
creation. But this cannot be true, for everything
that we do is produced through our mind, spirit,
senses or body. Yet, we haven’t created any of
these instruments. Since we are not the creator
and are not capable of creating such things, then
these functions cannot be fully subject to our control.
And it is impossible for us to create an act
without these instruments.
Therefore, we realize that the true creator of
our actions is not our own selves, but God. We
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perform every effort of ours, whether good or
evil, according to our own plans and purpose, but
the wisdom of that deed is not limited to our
intentions. We are only able to see that portion of
the wisdom and benefits that derive from our
actions. God, however, knows the total advantage
of that deed, and what fruits it will bear.
For instance, you pray to gain rewards in the
next world and to acquire a good name and safety
in the present. But the help derived from prayer
is not limited to that—it also bestows a hundred
thousand advantages you will never understand.
Only God, who gives rise to your prayer, knows
those advantages.
We are like a bow in the grip of God’s hand.
God sends us out upon various tasks. In reality
God is the agent, not the bow. The bow is merely
an instrument, unaware and unconscious of God,
so that the world’s apparent order can be maintained.
Mighty indeed is the bow that becomes
aware of the Bowman’s hand!
What can you say about a world whose perpetuation
and order rests on heedlessness? Don’t
you see how the people who are awakened
become indifferent to this world? Through childhood,
people grow and gain strength from negligence
and play. How else can they ever have
grown up to become men and women? Therefore,
God puts us through pains and labors to wash
away those acts of negligence and make us clean.
Only then are we able to become aware of the
other world.
The human being is like a dunghill, a heap of
manure. If this manure-heap is precious, it is
because hidden in it is the seal ring of the King.
You are like a sack of corn. The King cries out,
“Where are you carrying that corn? My cup is in
it.” People are unaware of the cup, being
absorbed in the corn. If they knew of the cup,
how could the corn distract them? Now, every
thought that draws you toward the other world,
making you cold and indifferent to this lower
world, is a reflection of that cup flashing out.
When men and women yearn after this lower
world, however, this is a sign that the cup has
become hidden in the heap.
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Someone said: “Qadi Izz al-Din sends his greetings,
and always speaks of you in the most
approving terms.”
Rumi answered: Whoever remembers us, and
speaks us well,
Long may the world of their high merit tell.
When people speak well of others, those good
words reflect back on themselves, and in the end
they are praising and applauding their own
essence. Those who cultivate the habit of speaking
well of others are like gardeners who plant
flowers and aromatic herbs around their houses—
wherever they look out they see a beautiful display
and are always in Paradise.
Whenever we speak well of another, that person
becomes our friend. When we remember
them, we remember a friend, and thinking of a
friend is like being near flowers and aromatic
herbs. It is refreshment and repose. But when we
speak ill of others, those people become repulsive
discourse 55
in our eyes. When we think of them or their image
even enters our thoughts, it is the same as snakes
or scorpions, thorns or thistles appearing before
us.
Since you can have flowers, aromatic herbs and
the meadows of Iram, why do you choose to walk
among the brambles and thorns? Think well of
everyone so that you always dwell amongst the
fields and meadows. Once you become the enemy
of everyone, the images of your foes surround you
day and night like scorpions and snakes.
This is why the saints have love for all people
and think well of whomever they meet—not for
the sake of others, but solely for themselves.
Since, in this world no one can escape talking
about other people or encountering their images,
the saints struggle to hold everything in their
mind and memory in an amiable and positive
light, so that hateful images will not block their
way.
So, whatever you say of others returns to yourself.
Mohammed said:
“Whoever does good, it is to their own gain,
And whoever does evil, it is to their own loss.
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And whoever does an atom’s weight of good
Shall see it,
And whoever does an atom’s weight of evil
Shall see it.”
Someone asked a question about the following
quote from the Koran:
“God declared:
‘I am setting in the earth a viceroy.’
The angels said:
‘What? Will You set there one
Who does corruption, and sheds blood,
While we proclaim Your praise and call You holy?’
“Since Adam had not yet come into the world,
how could the angels know beforehand that the
human race would be corrupt and shed blood?”
Rumi answered: There are two explanations—
one traditional, and the other rational. The traditional
version says that the angels read from the
Preserved Tablet that a people would come forth
who would act like this. The rational version says
that the angels deduced by reasoning that people
would come forth from the earth, and such people
would have to bear the qualities of the earth,
like animals. Although the spiritual element
would be present in human beings, namely that
they could speak, yet since animality would also
be in them, they would by necessity be ungodly
and shed blood, this being the heritage of being
human.
There is still another answer. Some people say
that angels, being pure reason and goodness, have
no choice in anything they say or do. Like in a
dream, if you have no choice of what you say or
do, how can you be criticized when you utter
unbelief in your sleep, or declare God is One, or
if you commit adultery? Angels are like this in
their waking state. People are the reverse of
that—they have freewill, are lustful and passionate,
desire all things for themselves, and are ready
to shed blood to gain what they want. These are
the attributes of animals. Thus the state of the
angels is the opposite of people.
It is perfectly fine to say that the angels spoke
in this fashion, even though there was neither
speech nor tongue, because if they were endowed
with words and gave an account of themselves,
this is how they would speak. In this same way
the poet writes, “The pool said, I am full.” Pools
of course do not really speak, but the poet means
that if the pool had a tongue, this is what it would
have said.
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Every angel has a tablet within them, and from
that tablet, according to the degree of their own
powers, they can read all that is to happen in the
world and everything that will take place. When
the moment arrives and what they have read actually
comes into being, then their belief becomes
stronger and their love and intoxication increase.
They marvel at God’s majesty and omniscience.
That increase of love and faith, that wordless and
unexpressed wonder, is the angel’s praise of God.
Thus, a builder tells their apprentice, “In this
house being built, so much wood will be used, so
many bricks, so many stones, and so much
straw.” When the house is complete and exactly
that amount of material was used, neither more
nor less, then the faith of the apprentice grows.
The angels too are in a similar case.
Someone asked: “The Prophet had such
majesty that God said, ‘But for thee I would not
have created the heavens,’ and yet Mohammed
said, ‘Would that the Lord of Mohammed had
not created Mohammed.’ How can this be?”
Rumi answered: Let me offer a comparison for
this to help you understand the meaning. In a certain
village a man fell in love with a woman. The
two lived together in happiness and pleasure.
They grew fat and thrived on one another. They
lived through each other, just as fish live in water.
Many years they were together. Then one day
God made them wealthy, bestowing on them
many sheep, oxen and horses, gold, servants and
slaves.
Because of their great fortune and prosperity,
they set out for the city. Each purchased a royal
palace, with horses and retinue—she in one part
of the city and he in another. Once they reached
their peak of wealth, they were no longer able to
enjoy each other’s company. Their hearts smoldered
away within them, and they uttered secret
lamentations, being unable to speak. The consuming
fire in them became so violent that they
entirely perished in the flames of separation. The
torture of their grief passed all bounds. Finally
their longing was heard by God.
Their horses and sheep began to vanish, and
little by little they were restored to their former
condition. So, after a long while, they were reunited
in their home village and resumed full enjoyment
of their life together. When they recalled the
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bitterness of their separation, they cried, “Would
that our Lord had never granted us such wealth.”
As long as Mohammed’s soul was dwelling in
the world of holiness and union with God, he
grew and thrived, plunging about in that sea of
compassion like a fish. But, in this earthly world,
even though he was endowed with the rank of
prophet and guide to humanity, and granted
greatness, majesty, fame and a large following,
still on returning to that former joyous life he
said, “Would that I never became a prophet or
came into this world.”
All these sciences, struggles and acts of devotion,
in comparison to the merit and majesty of
God, mean no more than bowing once, performing
a service and then leaving. Even if you moved
the whole Earth with your heart to serving God,
it would amount to the same as bowing once to
the ground. For God’s merit and graciousness
existed before your life and service. Did He bring
you forth, give you existence, and make you capable
of service and worship that you should boast
of serving Him? These services and sciences are
just as if you carved little shapes of wood and
leather, then came to offer them up to God, saying,
“I like these little shapes. I made them, but it
is Your job to give them life. If You give them life,
You will make my works live. Or, You do not
have to—the command is entirely Yours.”
Abraham said, “God is He who gives life and
death.” Nimrod said, “I give life and death.”
When God gave Nimrod kingship, he deemed
himself omnipotent as well, not attributing this
credit to God. Nimrod said, “I too bring life to
some and cause others to die, and what I desire
throughout my kingdom comes from my knowledge.”
When God bestows knowledge, sagacity
and shrewdness, people claim all credit for themselves,
saying, “Through my skill and abilities, I
gave life to these actions and have attained ecstatic
joy.” Abraham said, “No, it is God who gives
life and brings death.”
Someone said: “Abraham said to Nimrod, ‘My
God is He who brings up the sun out of the east
and sends it down in the west. God brings the sun
from the east. If you claim to be a god, then do
the reverse.” But then Nimrod compelled
Abraham to abandon this point, and Abraham
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left his first argument and Nimrod’s rejoinder
unanswered, embarking upon another proof.”
Rumi answered: Others have talked nonsense
about this, and now you too are talking nonsense.
Abraham gave one and the same argument in two
different forms. You have misunderstood, and so
did they. There are many meanings underlying
this statement. One meaning is this; that God
brought you out of the concealment of non-existence
from your mother’s womb. Your “east” was
your mother’s womb. From there you rose, and
you will go down into the “west” of your tomb.
This is precisely the first statement, only
expressed in another way: “He gives life and
brings death. Now, if you are able, bring forth life
from the west of the tomb, and send it back to the
east of the womb.”
That is one meaning—here is another:
Through obedience, strenuous effort, and noble
actions the Gnostic attains illumination and spiritual
intoxication, but through the abandonment
of obedience and effort their happiness goes down
like the sinking sun, therefore these two states are
their “east” and “west.” “So, if you are able to
bring life into a state of death through abandonment
of God, corruption and disobedience, then
out of this setting sun manifest the illumination
that only rises out of obedience.”
But that is not the job of the servant, and the
servant will never be able to do it. That is God’s
job; for if He wishes He causes the sun to rise
from the west, and if He wishes from the east.
The unbeliever and the believer both express
the praises of God. For God has promised that
anyone who chooses the right road and practices
right action, following the sacred law and the way
of the prophets and saints, shall be granted happiness,
illumination and life. If they do the
reverse, they will be granted darkness and fear,
pits and suffering. Since both believer and unbeliever
choose as they do, and what God has
promised comes to pass precisely, neither more
nor less, then both are proclaiming the praises of
God—the believer with one tongue, and the unbeliever
with another. How great that difference is
between the praises of one, and the praises of the
other!
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For instance, a thief commits a theft and is
hung on the gallows. That thief is a preacher to
the world, saying, “Whoever commits a theft, this
is what becomes of them.” On another person,
the king bestows a robe of honor due to their
trustworthiness. They are also a preacher to the
world. But the thief preaches with one tongue,
and the trusty servant with another. Consider the
difference between these two preachers!
Rumi said: You are now experiencing happiness.
Why? Because the mind is a delicate thing, and
like a snare it was properly set to catch its prey. If
you are unhappy, then that snare is torn and useless.
Therefore, it is best not to be excessive in love
or hatred towards others, since both of these leave
the snare broken and torn. Moderation is best. By
excessive love, I mean love for other than God.
How can love for God ever be excessive? It is
inconceivable—the greater our love for God, the
better.
Yet, when our love for someone else becomes
excessive, we strive for them to experience only
good fortune, but that is impossible, and so the
mind becomes disturbed. Similarly, when enmity
is excessive, we wish that person only bad luck
and misfortune, but the wheel of heaven is ever
turning, and everyone’s circumstances are also
revolving. One moment they are lucky, the next
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FIHI MA FIHI V 373
unlucky, and this seems unfair and disturbing to
the mind.
But love for God is latent in all people,
Magians, Jews or Christians, and in all things that
have being. How can anyone not love Him who is
the source of their existence? Therefore, love is
latent in everyone, but circumstances veil that
love. When those circumstances change, that love
becomes manifest.
Yet, why do I speak of only things that have
being? Non-being is also churning in the hope
and expectation of being granted existence. Nonbeings
are like four people standing before a
king, each one hoping the king will grant them
special rank, and yet each one ashamed before
the other three, because their own desires contradict
each other. So they stand, ranging in their
expectation of finding existence through God,
yet each desiring to be the first, and therefore
embarrassed before one another. If non-beings
are in such a circumstance, how should those in
existence be?
“There is nothing that does not proclaim
His praise.”
This is not remarkable. What is remarkable is
that even no-thing proclaims His praise.
Both faith and unbelief are seeking Thee
And shouting Thy undivided Unity.
This house is built out of forgetfulness. All
bodies and forms in this world are sustained
through forgetfulness. Even our full-grown bodies
grew by forgetting. But remembrance of God cannot
exist without forgetfulness, for something
must be forgotten before there can be remembrance.
Therefore, faith and unbelief are one and
the same, since one does not exist without the
other. They are indivisible, and God is one. God
is alone and has no partner.
Someone said: “Sayed Burhan al-Din discourses
very well, yet he quotes Sana’i too frequently.”
Rumi answered: What you say is true: the sun
is excellent, yet it gives light. Is that a fault? Using
Sana’i’s words casts light on his discourse. The
sun casts light on things, and through that light it
is possible to see. The purpose of light is to see.
After all, this sun in our heaven illuminates things
that have no use. But the real sun shows things
that are of use. This worldly sun is a reflection
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and a metaphor. That real sun is the true sun. Do
you yearn for the real sun and seek the light of
knowledge? Then be expectant of understanding
and learning something from every teacher and
every friend.
We know of that other sun, apart from our
physical sun, from which the realities and inner
truths are revealed. Yet this partial knowledge
that draws you, and through which you feel pleasure,
is but a branch of that great knowledge and
a ray of it. This ray is calling you to the original
sun.
“Those—they are called from a far place.”
You try to draw that knowledge towards yourself,
but it answers you, “I cannot be contained in
your world, it is impossible, and you have stayed
away so long because it is difficult to reach me.”
Now, what is impossible is impossible, but what
is difficult is not impossible. So, strive to attain
that great knowledge, but do not expect to contain
it here. The wealthy ones, out of their love
for God’s wealth, collect penny by penny, grain by
grain. But the ray of wealth says, “I am calling to
you from infinite wealth. Why do you try drawing
me piece by piece? I cannot be contained in
pieces. Listen, and follow me to unlimited riches.”
In short, the beginning depends upon the
end—may the end be praiseworthy! What is a
praiseworthy end? That the tree whose roots are
fixed firm in the spiritual garden, whose branches,
boughs and fruits suspend over another land,
and whose fruits have scattered—that in the end
those fruits should be carried back into that garden
of its original roots. But if the roots of a tree
belong to this world, although outwardly proclaiming
praises of God, all its fruits should be
carried back to this world. And if both roots and
fruit are in the spiritual garden, then that is
“Light upon Light.”
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Akmal al-Din said: “I love our Master and desire
to see him. Even heaven is blotted out of my
mind. I find comfort in his image without the
need for any discourses or lofty ideas. I rest in his
beauty. Pleasure comes to me from his very
mien—even from a mental picture of him.”
Rumi answered: Although heaven and God do
not enter your thoughts, still they are implicit in
love. A beautiful dancing-girl was once playing
the castanets in the presence of the Caliph. The
Caliph said, “Your art is in your hands.” She
replied, “No, in my feet, great Caliph! Excellence
appears in my hands only because they have captured
the excellence of my feet.”
Although you do not remember heaven in
every detail, still your delight in seeing the Sheikh,
and your fear of being separated from him, contain
all those details. All of heaven is captured in
that image.
A family cherishes and loves each other. If
thoughts of their care and fidelity, compassion
discourse 57
and fondness, and all the other benefits that kinsmen
look for from kinsmen—if these thoughts do
not enter their minds, still all these details are
implicit. In the same way, air is implicit in wood,
whether that wood is buried in earth or drenched
in water. Without air in wood, fire could have no
effect upon it, for air is the fuel of fire, the life of
fire. Have you not seen how a breath of air puts
life into fire? Whether wood is in water or earth,
still air is latent in it. If air were not latent, wood
could never rise to the surface of water.
It is the same with the words you speak. Many
things are contained in those words, such as intelligence
and thought, lips and mouth, throat and
tongue, as well as the elements and temperaments,
the influence of the stars, and the hundred
thousand secondary causes upon which the world
depends. On and on you can continue until you
come to the world of attributes, and then
essence—although none of these realities are put
into words, yet all is implicit in your words.
Every day undesirable and painful experiences
happen to us without our freewill. Certainly these
things contain implicit messages in them beyond
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our creation. We are under the control of
Someone beyond, Someone that watches over.
With many, an evil act brings pain. But despite
these unwanted experiences, our nature does not
want to accept the thought that we are under the
control of another.
Divinity, which is the opposite of servanthood,
is given to us on loan. We can be beaten over the
head, still we won’t let go of our borrowed stubbornness.
We forget about our unwanted experiences,
and we can not hear their message. Until
that borrowed divinity becomes our own, we will
not escape from being slapped.
Rumi related: A certain Gnostic once said, “I
went to the baths to expand my heart, since the
baths had become the place of retreat for certain
saints. I saw that the master of the bath stove had
an apprentice. The master was telling the apprentice,
‘Do this and do that.’ The apprentice was
working briskly, and the stove gave off good heat
because of how nimbly the orders were obeyed.
“’Fine,’ said the master. ‘Be nimble like this. If
you are always energetic and mind your manners,
I will give you my own position, and appoint you
to my own place.’
“I was overcome with laughter,” said the
Gnostic, “and my inner knot was resolved, for I
saw that bosses of this world all behave like this
with their apprentices.”
discourse 58
Someone said, “The astronomers say: You claim
there is something beyond the heavens and this
terrestrial ball. We believe, apart from what we
see, nothing exists. If something exists, then show
us where it is!”
Rumi answered: Your demand is invalid from
the very start. You say, “Show me where it is,”
but that Thing has no place. Come then, tell me,
where is your objection? Is it on your tongue, in
your mouth, or within your breast? Search
through all of these—divide them piece by piece,
atom by atom, and you will still not find your
objection, nor any thought. From this we realize
that thought has no place. Since you do not know
the place of your own thought, how could you
know the place of the Creator of thought?
Thousands of emotions and moods come over
you without your choice, for they are completely
outside your power and control. If you only knew
where these emotions came from, you would be
discourse 59
able to augment them. All these emotions pass
over you, and yet you are wholly unaware where
they come from, where they are going, and what
they will do. Since you are incapable of penetrating
your own moods, how do you expect to penetrate
your Creator?
Those whore sons say, “God is not in the heavens.”
You cur, how do you know God is not? Yes,
you have measured heaven span by span. You
have gone through all of it, and you pronounce,
“God is not in the heavens.” Why, you do not
know the whore you have in your own home,
then how could you know the heavens? Oh yes,
you have heard of heaven, and the names of stars
and the spheres. You think that is something. If
you really penetrated the depths of the heavens,
or even mounted one single step, you would never
utter such nonsense.
When we say that God is not in the heavens,
we do not mean that God is not in the heavens.
We mean that heaven cannot contain God, while
God contains all. God has an ineffable link with
the heavens, just as He has established an ineffable
link with you. All things are in the hand of
God’s omnipotence, within His creation and
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under His control. Therefore God is not outside
the heavens and the universe, neither is He wholly
in them. In other words, these things do not
comprehend God, and yet God comprehends all.
Someone said: “Before earth, heaven and the
Throne existed, where did God exist?” One of
Rumi’s students answered, “This question is
invalid from the start, for God is One who has no
place.”
Rumi said: You ask, “Where was God before
all this” Have you discovered the place of all
these things in you, that you are searching for His
place? Since your moods and thoughts have no
place, how can a place for God be conceivable?
Surely, the Creator of thought is subtler than
thought. For instance, those who build a house
are subtler than that house, because they are able
to make and plan a hundred other buildings, each
different from the last. Therefore they are subtler
and more majestic than any fabric, but this subtlety
can only be seen when they build a house
and their work enters the visible world.
Your breath is visible in winter, but in summer
is invisible. This doesn’t mean that your breath is
cut off in summer, but in summer your breath is
subtler and can not be seen. In the same way your
attributes and essential elements are too subtle to
be seen until you perform some act. For instance,
your clemency exists, but it cannot be seen until
you forgive an offender. Then your clemency
becomes visible. Similarly, your vengefulness cannot
be seen, but when you take revenge upon criminals
and beat them, then your vengefulness is seen.
Because of God’s extreme subtlety He cannot be
seen. So He created heaven and earth, that His
omnipotence and His handiwork would be visible.
These words I am given to share are not in my
complete control, and therefore I am pained,
because I would like to counsel my friends but the
words do not come as I want them to. This brings
pain. But since these words are higher than I, and
I am subject to them, I am happy. For the words
that God speaks bring life wherever they reach,
and leave a deep impression.
“And when you threw, it was not
you who threw, but God.”
The arrow that leaps from the bow of God, no
shield or breastplate can stop. Therefore I am
happy.
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If we knew all that there was to know, and all
ignorance was eliminated, we would be consumed
and cease to be. Therefore ignorance is a good
thing, since through it this world continues to
exist. Knowledge is also desirable, for it leads to
the awareness of God. Thus, each is a partner
with the other, and all opposites are joined. Night
is the opposite of day, yet they are partners and
both do the same work. If night lasted forever, our
eyes would become dazzled and our brains would
go insane. Therefore we rest and sleep at night,
and the brain, thought, hand and foot, hearing
and sight, all gather strength. By day they expend
these powers.
So all things appear in opposition, but to the
wise they all work together and are not opposed.
Show me an evil in this world without good, or a
good thing without evil. For instance, a man
intent on murder becomes preoccupied with the
man’s wife, and as a result he sheds no blood.
There is no doubt that taking the man’s wife is
evil, but since this saves her husband’s life she also
sees this as good. Therefore evil and good are one
thing and inseparable.
This is our main quarrel with the Magians.
They say there are two Gods: the creator of good
and the creator of evil. Show me good without
evil—then I will admit there is a God of evil and
a God of good! This is impossible, for good can
not exist without evil. Since there is no separation
between them, how can there be two creators?
Are we not arguing in opposition to you? By all
means, we most definitely are. But we will not
push this point too far, because you might wonder
if the Magians are correct. Granted, you are not
sure what I have said is wrong, yet how can you
be sure that it is not right? Wretched infidel,
Mohammed said, “Haven’t you realized the
threats which we have made might come true, and
punishment will be visited upon the unbelievers as
you have never imagined? Then why do you not
take precautions and seek after Us?”
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The Prophet says that Abu Bakr was superior to
the other Companions, not due to his prayer and
fasting, but because that special favor—the love
of God—was with him. On the resurrection day,
a person’s prayers will be placed in the balance
along with their fasting and generosity, but once
love is brought forth it cannot be contained by
any balance. Therefore, love is the root.
When you find love in your heart, then encourage
it to grow. When you see the original investment
within yourself, namely the desire for God,
increase it through searching. “In movement is
blessing.” If you do not build on it, even the original
desire will leave you.
Are you less than the earth? Farmers turn the
earth with a hoe and it yields crops. When they
abandon it, it becomes hard. So, when you find
the quest for Truth within yourself, follow it
wherever it may lead. Do not say, “What use is
there in following this desire?” Just go! The profit
will show itself.
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Everyone goes to the store to fulfill their needs.
God bestows both the desires and the provisions
for each person, but if people sit at home acting
self-sufficient then their provisions will never
reach them. After all, when a little child cries, her
mother feeds her. Now, if the child stopped to
think, “What use is there in crying? How could
crying possibly cause milk to come?” she would
stay hungry. Therefore, crying brings her food.
This is the same as asking, “What use is there
in this bowing, prostrating and prayer? Why
should I do it?” Well, when you bow before a
prince, the prince has compassion for you, doesn’t
he? But this compassion doesn’t come from the
prince’s skin and flesh. Should he die, or when he
is asleep, then bowing to the prince’s body accomplishes
nothing. So we realize that the compassion
of the prince is something invisible. If we can bow
to something invisible contained in skin and flesh,
surely we can also bow to that Prince who is without
skin and flesh.
If everything contained in skin and flesh were
visible, Abu Jahl and Mohammed would have
been the same, there would have been no difference
between them. An ear, to outward appear-
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ance, is the same whether deaf or hearing—there
is no difference. Their material shape is the same.
Therefore, that hearing exists invisibly and cannot
be seen.
So the root of the matter is Divine grace. You,
being a prince, have two slaves. One performs
many spiritual services and makes numerous
inward journeys on your behalf. The other is idle
in serving you. Yet we see your love for the idle
one is greater. You do not intend to let the active
one go unrewarded, but that is what happens.
It is impossible to determine the cause of God’s
grace. This right eye and this left eye both appear
the same. What service has the right eye performed
that the left eye has not? And the right
hand—what work has it done that the left hand
has not done? Yet Divine favor has fallen on the
right hand and right eye. So too, Friday has been
preferred over the rest of the days.
“God has certain portions to bestow on people
Other than those inscribed on the Tablet,
So let everyone seek for them on Friday.”
Now what service has Friday performed that
the other days have not? Yet God bestowed His
grace and special mark of honor upon Friday.
If a blind person should say, “I was created
blind like this, it is not my fault,” it will do them
no good. It will not relieve them of their suffering.
Those infidels who are fixed in unbelief—they
suffer because of their unbelief. Yet looking at the
matter again, that suffering is also a Divine blessing.
When the unbelievers are at ease they forget
the Source, so God reminds them through suffering.
Therefore, Hell is a place of worship and is
the mosque of infidels, for there the unbelievers
remember God.
In prison, suffering, and toothache, when pain
comes it tears away the veil of forgetfulness. The
sufferers turn to God and pray, “O Lord, O compassionate
One, O God!” They are healed. Then
the veils of forgetfulness descend again and they
say, “Where is God? I cannot find Him. I cannot
see Him. Why should I even look?”
How is it that when you were suffering you
saw and found, but now you cannot see?
Therefore, suffering is made to prevail over you to
the end, so that you will remember God. The sinner
is forgetful in times of ease and does not recollect
God. In Hell the sinner remembers night
and day.
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God created the world, heaven and earth,
moon, sun and stars, good and evil, to remember
Him, serve Him and proclaim His praise. Since
the unbelievers do not remember unless they are
suffering, and since their purpose in being created
was to recollect God, they are sent suffering to
remember Him.
Believers, however, do not forget that suffering—
they see suffering as always present. In the
same way, once an intelligent child has had its feet
put in stocks as punishment, they never forget the
stocks. The stupid child, however, forgets and
must be put in the stocks every day. So, too, the
clever horse, once it has felt the spur, does not
require the spur again. It carries the rider for
leagues without forgetting the sting of the spur.
The stupid horse, however, requires the spur every
moment; it is not fit to carry anyone, so they load
it with dung.
Hearing something over and over from many people
carries the same authority as seeing for yourself.
For example, you’ve been told that you were
born to your father and mother. You never saw
this with your own eyes, but after hearing it many
times from different people, you accept it as the
truth. If you were told that they were not your
parents, you wouldn’t listen. Similarly, you have
heard repeatedly from trusted people that
Baghdad and Mecca exist. If all those people were
now to swear an oath that those cities do not
exist, you would not believe them. Therefore,
when the ear has heard the same thing repeatedly
from many different sources, it carries the same
authority as the eye.
In the same way, if someone makes a statement
that is a well-known saying handed down generation
after generation, then that is not a single
statement but a hundred thousand. What is so
surprising in this? A king exercises the authority
of a hundred thousand, though he is only one—if
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a hundred thousand should speak nothing would
happen, but when he speaks it happens immediately.
While this is the way of the external world, it
is even truer of the spiritual world.
You may have seen this whole world, but since
you have not seen it with God in mind, then you
must make the trip again. “That journey was not
on My account, it was for the sake of garlic and
onions. Since you did not go about for My sake,
but for another purpose, then that other purpose
became a veil to you, not allowing you to see
Me.”
It is the same as searching earnestly for a person
in the bazaar—you see nobody else, or if you
see them they are only shadows. Or when you are
hunting for the solution to a problem in a book,
your ears and eyes and mind are full of that one
problem. You turn the pages, yet you see nothing
else. Since you had an intention and object in
mind, wherever you went you were full of that
goal.
In the time of Umar, there was a certain man
who had grown so old that his daughter would
feed him milk and look after him like a child.
Umar said to that daughter, “There is no child
alive today to compare with you in your dutifulness
to your father.” She replied, “What you say
is true, but there is a difference between what I
give and what my father gave me. I may not fall
short in service to my father, but when my father
raised and served me he used to tremble for my
safety and concern, while I serve my father and
pray night and day asking God that he may die,
so the trouble he causes me may end. If I serve my
father, where can I get that same trembling he has
for me?” Umar said, “This woman is wiser than
Umar.” He meant, “I have judged by externals,
while she speaks of the core.”
Those who are truly wise penetrate into the
core of a thing and diagnose the truth of it. God
forbid that Umar was not apprised of the truth
and secrets of things, but such was the way of the
Companions, that they criticized themselves and
commended others.
There are many who lack the strength for
“presence.” They find “absence” more agreeable.
In the same way, brightness comes from the sun
and illuminates the world, but if people stare at
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the sun’s orb all day it does them no good and
their eyes become dazzled. It would be better for
them to become involved in some other task and
leave the presence of the sun’s orb. Similarly, to
mention tasty dishes in the presence of sick people
encourages them to gain strength and
appetite, but the actual consumption of those
dishes can do them harm.
Therefore, trembling and passionate love are
necessary in the quest for God. Whoever does not
tremble must wait upon the tremblers. No fruit
ever grows on the trunk of a tree, for trunks do
not tremble. The tips of the branches tremble, and
the trunk supports the tips of the branches and
the fruit securely, even against the blow of an axe.
Since the trembling of the tree trunk would end in
ruin, it is better for the trunk not to tremble. It
suits the trunk to be quiet to better serve the tremblers.
Since the Amir’s name is Mu’in al-Din, he is
not ‘Ain al-Din (“Essence of the Faith”) because
of the “M” added to the ‘Ain. “Any addition to
perfection is a diminution.” The addition of that
“M” is a diminution. In the same way, though a
sixth finger is an addition, still it is a diminution.
Ahad (“One”) is perfection, and Ahmad is not yet
in the state of perfection. When that “M” is
removed it becomes complete perfection. In other
words, God comprehends all—whatever you add
to God is a diminution. The number one is contained
in all numbers, and without it no number
could exist.
Sayed Burhan al-Din was teaching, when a fool
interrupted him to say, “We need some words
without comparisons or likenesses.” The Sayed
answered, “Whoever has no likeness, come and
listen to words without likeness!”
After all, you are a likeness of yourself. You are
not this body. The existence here is but a shadow
of you. If someone dies, people say, “So-and-so
has departed.” If they were only that body, then
where have they gone? So, your outer form is an
analogy of your internal being, and from your
external form others can judge your inner reality.
Everything is visible because of density. Thus, the
breath in hot weather cannot be seen, but when it
is cold it becomes visible due to density.
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It was the duty of the Prophet to manifest the
power of God and by preaching to awaken others.
It was not his job, however, to bring people to
the stage of being ready to receive God’s truth—
that is God’s work. God has two attributes: wrath
and loving-kindness. The prophets are theaters
for both. To believers they are a theater of God’s
love, and to unbelievers they become a theater for
God’s wrath.
Those who acknowledge truth see themselves
in the Prophet, hear their own voice proceeding
from him, and smell their own scent in his presence.
No one denies the reality of their own self.
Therefore the prophets say to the community,
“We are you, and you are we, there is no strangeness
between us.” Someone says, “This is my
hand.” Nobody asks them for proof, since their
hand is a part of them. But if they say, “So-and-so
is my son,” then proof is demanded, for that is
something separate from themselves.
Some say that love is the cause of service, but this
isn’t true. Rather, the Beloved’s desire is the true
source of service. If the Beloved wishes the lover
to help, then the lover provides that help. If the
Beloved does not want it, then the lover gives it
up. Abandoning service is not the abandonment
of love. No, on the contrary, even if the lover performs
no service, love continues working through
the lover’s heart. Therefore, the root of the matter
is love, and service is the branch.
When the sleeve moves, this is because the
hand moves. But this does not mean the sleeve
always follows the hand. For instance, someone
has a gown so large that when they move around,
the gown does not move. We have all seen that.
But what is not possible, is that the gown can
move without the person moving.
Some people have mistaken the gown for a person,
have considered the sleeve a hand, and imagined
the boot to be a foot. Yet this hand and foot
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are the sleeve and boot of another hand and foot.
They say, “So-and-so is under the foot of So-andso,”
and “So-and-so has a hand in so many
things.” Surely, when we speak of such a hand
and foot we do not mean this hand and foot.
That Prince came and assembled us and then
departed. In the same way, the bee unites the wax
with the honey and then flies away. This is
because our creation was a condition, but, after
all, God’s eternity is not a condition. Our mothers
and fathers are like bees, uniting the seeker with
the sought, and assembling together the lover and
beloved. Then one day they suddenly fly away.
God has made them a means for uniting the wax
and the honey, and then they fly away, while the
wax and honey remains. But they do not fly out
of the garden. This is not the kind of garden that
is possible to leave. Rather, they go from one corner
of the garden to another.
Our body is like a beehive, assembled from the
wax and honey of the love of God. Although the
bees, our mothers and fathers, brought that honey
and wax together, yet they too are tended by the
gardener, and therefore it is the gardener who also
makes the beehive. God gives those bees a form
appropriate to the work they are doing, but when
they depart into the other world they change garments,
for there a different work proceeds. Still,
those people are the same as they were in the first
place.
For example: a man goes into battle, puts on
his battledress, girds on armor and places a helmet
on his head to prepare for combat. But when
he comes home to the feast he takes off those garments,
since food and family are another business.
Still, he is the same person. However, if you
last saw him in that garment, then whenever you
think of him, you will picture him in that shape
and dress, even though he may have changed
clothes a hundred times.
A woman loses a ring in a certain place.
Though the ring has been moved, she still circles
around that spot, implying, “It was here that I
lost it.” In the same way, a bereaved man circles
around the grave, ignorantly circumambulating
about the earth and kissing it, implying, “I lost
that ring here,” yet how could it still be there?
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God performs so many wonderful works to
display His omnipotence. It is here, for the sake of
Divine wisdom, that He brings together spirit and
body for a day or two.
People are afraid of death. They think that by
sitting with a corpse in a tomb, even for a
moment, they could go mad. Why then, once they
are released from the trap of form and the tomb
of the body, why would they remain nearby?
God has appointed the sight of a grave to strike
fear into our hearts as a token, and to renew that
fear of death again and again. In the same way,
when a caravan has been ambushed in a certain
place on the road, two or three stones are placed
together there to act as a waysign, saying, “Here
is a place of danger.” Graves are also visible
waysigns showing a place of danger.
Fear makes its mark on you, even though it is
not always realized. For instance, if people say to
you, “So-and-so is afraid of you,” an affection
immediately manifests toward them. If, on the
contrary, they say, “So-and-so is not in the least
afraid of you,” and “They have no worry about
you at all,” simply because of these words an
anger appears in your heart.
This running about in life is the effect of fear.
All the world is running, but each being runs in a
different way. The human being’s chasing or running
away is of one kind, the pursuit and aversions
of a plant are not the same, and the running
of spirit is all together different.
For example, the running of the spirit is without
visible step or sign. And consider the unripe
grape, how much it pursues sweetness until it
attains the blackness of the ripe grape. That running
is invisible and imperceptible, but when the
grape reaches that stage, it realizes what it had
been chasing for so long. Similarly, someone
enters the water without being seen by anyone,
but when that person’s head suddenly sticks out
in the middle of the water, then everyone realizes
how much swimming has been done to reach that
point.
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Lovers have heartaches no cure can mend, neither
sleeping, traveling, nor eating—only the sight of
the beloved. “Meet the Friend and your sickness
will end.” This is so true that even if a hypocrite
sits in the company of believers, under their
influence that hypocrite can become a believer in
an instant. So God declares:
“When they meet those who believe,
They will say, ‘We believe.’”
How then, when a believer sits with a believer?
Since such company has this effect on a hypocrite,
consider what benefits it brings to the believer!
Consider how wool, in the hands of a wise
weaver becomes a beautiful carpet, and this earth,
through association with creative builders
becomes a fine palace! Since the society of intelligent
people has such an effect on inanimate
things, then imagine what effect the society of
believers has on the believer!
Through association with beings of even limited
intellect, inanimate things can take on great
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forms and beauty. These creations are all the
shadow of partial intellects, and from these shadows
you can understand the creators, themselves.
So, then, deduce the Intellect and Being that casts
the shadow of yonder heavens, the moon and sun,
the seven layers of the earth, and all that lies
between the earth and heaven. All these are the
shadow of the Universal Intellect. The shadow of
a limited being is proportionate to the shadow of
its body. The shadow of the Universal Being,
which is all of Creation, is proportionate to That.
The saints have seen other heavens besides
these heavens. This world is unimpressive and
lowly next to what they have been shown. The
saints have set their foot upon those heavens and
transcended them.
“Heavens there are in the province of the soul
That hold our worldly heaven in their control.”
Why is it so amazing that a certain person, out
of all of humanity, should discover the particular
quality necessary to set foot upon the head of the
seventh heaven? Are we not all made of the same
substance as the earth? Yet God implanted in us a
quality that distinguishes us from the earth,
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putting us in control of that substance. We can
control it however we choose—now lifting it up,
now setting it down. Now we fashion it into a
palace, now we make it a cup and goblet. Now
we stretch it out, now we shorten it. Perhaps we
were first made of this very earth and a part of it,
but God has distinguished us by means of that
faculty. In the same way, what is so hard to
believe about the fact that out of the midst of us,
who are all of the same race, God should distinguish
a certain one, and that in relation to him we
are like an inanimate thing, he controlling us, we
being unaware of him, while he is aware of us?
When I say “unaware,” I do not mean utterly
unaware. Rather, everyone who focuses their
attention on one thing is unaware of something
else. Even earth, inanimate as it is, is aware of
what God has given it. For if it were unaware,
how could it be receptive to water, and how could
it nurse and nourish every seed? When people
apply themselves earnestly and completely to a
particular task, their concentration on that task
leaves them unaware of anything else. But this
inattention does not mean total inattention. For
example, some people try to catch a cat, but it
eludes them every time. Then one day that cat is
so preoccupied with hunting a bird, that it does
not see them approaching, and they catch it.
It is not necessary to become totally preoccupied
with worldly affairs. We should take things
easily, and not get caught up in bondage to them,
lest in becoming disturbed we might distress
something greater. The Treasure must not be disturbed,
for if this world should worry, That Other
will transform it, but if That Other is vexed (may
we seek refuge with God!) then who will transform
That?
If, for instance, you have many kinds of cloth,
when you are absorbed, which of them will you
clutch? Though they all may be indispensable,
still it is certain that from your bundle you will
choose something precious, something to be treasured,
for with the value of one pearl and a single
ruby you can produce a thousand ornaments.
From a certain tree, sweet fruit grows.
Although that fruit is only one part, yet God has
chosen and distinguished that part above the
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whole, for in it God deposited a sweetness that
He did not deposit in the rest. By virtue of that
flavor, that part became superior to the whole,
and proved the pith and purpose of the tree. So
God declares:
“Nay, but they wonder that a warner has come
to them from amongst themselves.”
A certain person said, “I have attained a state
in which neither Mohammed nor the angel near
the Throne is contained.” The Sheikh replied,
“What is so amazing about having a state where
Mohammed is not contained? Yet Mohammed
does not have even one state in which a stinking
creature like you is not contained!”
A certain jester wanted to restore the king to a
better mood. Everyone had offered him a certain
sum to accomplish this, for the king was deeply
vexed. The king was walking angrily along the
bank of a river. The jester walked on the other
side, across from the king. But the king would not
pay the slightest attention to the jester, he just
kept staring into the water. The jester, becoming
desperate, said, “O king, what do you see in the
water?” The king replied, “I see the husband of
an unfaithful wife.” The jester said, “Your slave is
also not blind.”
So, you may have a time when Mohammed is
not contained, but Mohammed does not have a
state where such a stinking creature is not contained.
After all, this spiritual state you have discovered
is due to his blessing and influence. For,
first, all gifts are showered on him, then they are
distributed from him to others. Such is the rule.
God said, “O Prophet, We have scattered all gifts
upon thee.” Said Mohammed, “And upon God’s
righteous servants!”
The way to God is exceedingly fearful and
blocked deep by snow. Mohammed risked his life,
driving his horse through and opening up the
road. Whoever goes on this road, does so by his
guidance and guarding. He discovered the road in
the first place, and set up waymarks everywhere,
posting signs that say, “Do not go in this direction,
and do not go that way. If you go that way
you will perish, even as the people of ‘Ad and
Thamud, but if you go in this direction you will
be saved, like the believers. All of the Koran
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expounds this, for “therein are clear signs”—in
other words, upon this road We have given waymarks.
If anyone tries to destroy any of these
signs, everyone will attack them, saying, “Why do
you destroy the road for us? Why do you work
toward our destruction? Are you a highway robber?”
Know that Mohammed is the guide. God says,
“Until you first come to Mohammed you cannot
reach Us.” This is like when you decide to go
somewhere; thought leads the way, saying, “Go to
this place, it is in your best interests.” After that
your eyes act as a guide, and then your limbs
begin to move, all in that order. But the limbs
have no knowledge of eyes, nor the eyes of
thought.
Though some people are forgetful, other people
do not forget them. But if you work hard in
pursuit of this world, you forget your real concern.
You must seek God’s approval, not the
approval of society. Approval, love and affection
are only on loan in us, being placed there by God.
If God so wishes, there is no comfort or joy even
with all the means of ease, bread and luxury provided—
everything becomes pain and affliction.
All of these secondary conditions are like a pen
in the hand of God’s omnipotence. God is the
mover and writer. Until He decides, the pen does
not move. Your eye is fixed on the pen, and you
say, “There must be a hand to this pen.” You see
the pen, but you do not see the hand. But seeing
the pen, you remember the hand. There are those,
however, who always see the hand. They say,
“There must also be a pen in this hand.” But seeing
the beauty of the hand, they do not care about
the pen. They simply say, “Such a hand cannot be
without a pen.”
While you are so delighted with beholding the
pen that you forget the hand, they are so delighted
with the hand, how could they care for the
pen? While you find so much pleasure in barley
bread that you never try wheat bread, they have
wheat bread, so how could they care about barley
bread? If He has given you such joy upon earth
that you have no desire for heaven—the true place
of joy—and since earth derives its life from heaven,
then likewise, why should the inhabitants of
heaven remember earth?
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Therefore, do not think that happiness and
pleasure come from secondary causes, for those
realities are merely on loan. It is He who brings
pain or gain, for all pain and profit come from
Him. Why do you cling so tightly to secondary
causes?
“The best words are those that are few and
telling.” The best words convey a lesson without
going on and on. Though in the Koran the Sura,
“Say, He is One,” is short, still it is superior to the
Sura of “The Cow”, which is much longer,
because of the message it contains. Noah
preached for a thousand years and four people
rallied around him. We all know how long
Mohammed preached, yet the people of so many
climes believe in him, and so many saints and
“pegs” appeared because of him. A lot or a little
is no way to judge. The true object is the lesson
received.
With some, a few words may convey the lesson
better than many. In the same way, if the fire of a
stove is too fierce you cannot even approach it, so
how can you gain any benefit from it? But there
are a thousand advantages with a feeble lamp.
Hence, it is the benefit gained that is the true
objective. With some people it is best not to hear
any words at all—it is enough for them to see.
That is what profits them most, and if they hear
any words it actually harms them.
A certain Sheikh from India came to visit a
great saint. When he reached Tabriz and came to
the door of the saint’s cell, he heard a voice from
within saying, “Return home! For you have
attained your need in coming to this door. To see
the saint would harm you.”
A few words that convey a lesson are like a lit
lamp that kisses an unlit lamp and then departs.
That was enough for him, he had attained his
purpose. After all, the prophet is not that visible
form, that form is only the steed of the prophet.
The prophet is that Divine love and affection that
is immortal.
Someone asked: “Then why don’t they only
praise God upon the minaret? Why do they also
mention Mohammed?”
Rumi answered: Well, praising Mohammed is
praising God. It is like saying, “Long live the
king, and long live that friend who led me to the
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king, and told me of the king’s good name and
attributes!” Praising that friend is praising the
king.
The Prophet said, “Give me something. I am in
need. Either give me your cloak, your wealth, or
your clothes.” Now, what would he do with your
cloak or wealth? He wants to lighten your garment,
so that the warmth of the sun can reach
you.
“And lend to God a good loan.”
He does not want wealth and cloak alone.
After all, He has given you many things besides
wealth: knowledge, thought, wisdom and vision.
He means, “Expend on Me a moment’s thought,
care and consideration, since this wealth you gain
comes through these gifts I have given.” God asks
for alms from bird and snake alike. If you can go
before the sun naked, all the better, for that Sun
does not burn black, it turns you white. Or at
least lighten your clothes to feel the joy of that
Sun. You have become accustomed to bitterness.
At least for a while try sweetness too!
Every science learned in this world through study
and experiment is the science of bodies. The science
acquired by crossing the portal of death is
the science of Soul. Knowing about the science of
“I am God” is the science of bodies, but to
become “I am God” is the science of Soul. To see
the light of the lamp and the fire is the science of
bodies, to burn in that fire and lamp’s flame is the
science of Soul. Everything experienced is the science
of Soul, everything based upon knowledge is
the science of bodies.
You could also say that the only truth is seeing
and vision—all else is the science of fantasy. For
example, an architect thinks through and imagines
the building of a school. No matter how correct
and accurate the architect’s thoughts, still it is
fantasy. It becomes reality only after builders
actually raise and construct the school.
Now, there are differences between fantasy and
fantasy. The fantasy of Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman
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and Ali is superior to the fantasy of the
Companions. Between one person’s fantasy and
another’s are great differences. An expert architect
pictures building a house. Another person
who is not an architect also imagines a house.
However, the differences are great because the
architect’s fantasy is closer to reality. It is the same
in the world of realities and vision, there are differences
between one person’s vision and the
vision of others.
They say there are seven hundred veils of
darkness and seven hundred veils of light. Well,
all the worlds of fantasy are veils of darkness, and
all the worlds of realities are veils of light. But
between those veils of darkness, there is no
knowledge that can grasp their extreme subtlety,
and despite the vast and enormous variation
between the worlds of realities, those differences
can never be comprehended by the mind.
Those who are living in Hell are happier there
than they would be in this world, for in Hell their
awareness turns to God, while in this world they
forget. Nothing is sweeter than the awareness of
God. Therefore, their desire to return to this
world is to work and carry out deeds so that they
can witness the manifestation of Divine grace, not
because this world is a happier place than Hell.
Hypocrites are consigned to the lowest place in
Hell, because they were shown the faith but their
unbelief was stronger. They did nothing with the
gift they were given. Their punishment is more
severe so they can become aware of God. To the
unbelievers, faith never came. Their unbelief is
not as strong, and so they become aware through
less punishment. Between pants with dust upon
them, and a carpet with dust, the trousers only
need one person to shake them a little to become
clean, while it takes four people shaking the rug
violently to rid the carpet of its dust.
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The inhabitants of Hell cry:
“Pour upon us water, or of that
God has provided you…”
God forbids their desire for food or drink,
therefore this saying means, “Pour upon us from
what you have found, and shines upon you.”
The Koran is like a bride who does not show
her face to you even when you draw aside the veil.
The fact that you have examined her, and yet have
not attained happiness or mystical unveiling, is a
sign that your act of trying to remove her veil has
itself repulsed her, so that she appears to you as
ugly. She says, “I am no beautiful bride.” The
Koran shows itself in whatever form it pleases.
But if you do not try drawing aside the veil, and
seek only the Koran’s good pleasure, watering its
fields, attending it from afar, working upon whatever
pleases it best, then it will show you its face
without any effort at drawing aside the veil.
Seek the people of God, for God does not
speak to every one, just as the kings of this world
do not speak to every weaver. They have appointed
viziers and deputies to show the way to the
king. God has also chosen certain servants, so
that whoever seeks God can find God in them. All
the prophets have come for this reason—only
they are the Way.
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Siraj al-Din said: “I was speaking to someone
about a problem when something within me
began to ache.”
Rumi said: That something is put in charge of
you to prevent you from speaking when you
should not speak. Usually it is so subtle that it
goes unnoticed, but when you feel that yearning,
compulsion and pain, then you know there is
something in control. For instance, you enter a
pool of water and the softness of the flowers and
fragrant herbs reach you, but when you get to the
other side thorns prick you. Then you realize that
one side is a thorn-bed and pain, while the other
side is a flowerbed and comfort. These differences
affect us through our emotions, yet they are closer
to us than anything external.
Hunger and thirst, anger and happiness—all
these are invisible, yet they affect us more than
anything we can see. For if you close your eyes,
you can no longer see the perceptible, but this will
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not drive hunger away. In the same way, spice in
hot dishes, sweetness and bitterness in foods,
these cannot be seen, yet their taste has a much
stronger effect upon us than how the food looks.
Why do you worry about this body? Why are
you so attached to it? You live without it. You are
always without it. When nighttime comes you
forget it, but once the day arrives you are
absorbed in your body’s affairs. But you are never
truly with the body, so why tremble over its concerns.
You are not with it for a single hour, but are
always elsewhere. Where are you, and where is
the body?
“You are in one valley, and I am in another.”
This body is a great deception.
Pharaoh’s magicians paused for an instant, like
a speck of dust hanging in the air, and gave up
their forms, for they knew they lived apart from
the body, and the body was not them. In the same
way, Abraham, Ishmael and all the prophets and
saints, having paused, were indifferent to whether
the body existed or not.
Hajjaj, who smoked hashish, once shouted,
“Do not move the door or my head will fall off!”
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FIHI MA FIHI V 421
He thought his head was disconnected from his
body and stayed in place only through its connection
to the door. It is the same with all people—
we think we are connected with the body and
depend upon it for survival.
“He created Adam in His likeness.”
Everyone is seeking the manifestation of God.
For example, there are many veiled women who
uncover their faces to try the object of their desire,
like you try a razor. There are lovers who say to
their beloved, “I have not slept and I have not
eaten. I have become like this and that without
you.” What they mean is, “You are seeking a
manifestation of God. I am the manifestation you
can vaunt your belovedness upon.” In the same
way, all scholars and learned people are seeking
to manifest God’s desire, “I was a hidden treasure,
and I desired to be known.”
“He created Adam in His likeness,” meaning
in the likeness of God’s laws. Divine law is manifest
in all creation, because all things are the shadow
of God, and the shadow is like the person. If
the five fingers spread out, the shadow also
spreads out. If the body bows, the shadow also
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FIHI MA FIHI V 423
es out. Therefore, all people seek a Beloved, for
they all desire to be lovers of God, enemies to His
enemies, and friends to His friends. All these are
the rules and attributes of God that appear in the
shadow.
To sum up, this shadow world is unaware of
who we really are, yet we are aware. But in comparison
to God’s knowledge, this awareness of
ours is unawareness. Not everything in a person
shows in their shadow, only certain things. So not
all the attributes of God show in this shadow
world, only some of them, for
“You have been given of knowledge nothing
Except a little.”
Jesus was asked, “What is the most difficult thing
in this world and the next?” He said, “The wrath
of God.” They asked, “And what can save us
from that?” He answered, “Master your own
wrath and anger towards others.”
When the mind wants to complain, do the
opposite—give thanks. Exaggerate the matter to
such a degree that you find within yourself a love
of what repels you. Pretending thankfulness is a
way of seeking the love of God.
Our Master, Shams, said, “To complain of creation
is to complain of the Creator.” He also said,
“Hatred and rage lay hidden in your unconscious.
If you see a spark leap from that fire, extinguish
it, so that it will return to non-existence from
where it came. If you insist on matching anger
with anger and promoting the flame of rage, it
will spring faster and faster from your unconscious,
and become more and more difficult to
put out.”
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FIHI MA FIHI V 425
Chase away evil with something good, and you
triumph over your enemy in two ways. One way
is this—your enemy is not another person’s flesh
and skin, it is the contagiousness of their hatred.
When that is cast out of you by an abundance of
thanks, it will inevitably be cast out of your
enemy as well, because everyone instinctively
responds to kindness, and you have left your
opponent with nothing to fight against.
It is just like with children, when they shout
names at someone and that person yells bad
names back, they are all the more encouraged,
thinking, “Our words have had an effect.” But if
the enemy sees their words bring about no change
they lose interest.
The second benefit is this: When the attribute
of forgiveness comes forth in you, other people
realize they have not been seeing you as you truly
are. Then they know that they are the ones to be
reproached, not you, and no proof puts adversaries
to shame more than that. So by praising
and giving thanks to detractors you are administering
an antidote to that hatred in them, for
while they have shown you your deficiency, you
have shown them your perfection.
Those who are loved by God can hardly be
defective. Thus, let us praise those who criticize
us, so their friends will think, “It is our friends
who are at odds with the Sufis, since the Sufis
always speak well to our friends.”
Though they are powerful,
Pluck out their beards politely.
Firmly break their necks,
Though they are high and mighty.
May God assist us in that!
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Between the human being and God are just two
veils—health and wealth—all other veils come
from these. Those who are healthy do not look
for God and do not see Him, but as soon as pain
afflicts them they cry out, “O God! O God!” calling
out and surrendering to God. Therefore,
health is their veil and God is hidden in their pain.
As long as people have wealth, they gratify
their desires, and are preoccupied night and day
with pleasures. The moment poverty appears,
their spirits are weakened and they turn to God.
Drunkenness and poverty brought You to me,
I am the slave of Your drunkenness and need!
God granted to Pharaoh four hundred years of
life, kingship and enjoyment. All that was a veil,
which kept him far from the presence of God. He
did not even experience a single day of disagreeableness
and pain, so that he would completely
forget God. God said, “Go on being preoccupied
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with your own desire, and do not even think of
me. Good night!”
King Solomon grew weary of his reign,
But Job was never sated of his pain.
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Rumi said: Some people say that in the human
soul is an evil not found in animals and wild
beasts, but this does not mean that people are
worse than beasts. Rather, this evil character and
darkness of soul in the human being hides a secret
essential element. The more precious and noble
that element is, the greater the veil to hide it, and
such veils cannot be removed without great effort.
These struggles are of various kinds. The greatest
is to spend time with friends who have turned
their faces to God and turned their backs on this
world. There is no more difficult combat than
this, for the very sight of them dissolves our ego
and worldly desires. That is why they say that if a
snake has seen no human for forty years it
becomes a dragon, since it has seen no one who
could stop the growth of its own evil nature.
Wherever men or women put a big lock, that is
a sign of something precious and valuable. Just
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like the snake that guards a treasure, do not
regard a person’s ugliness, but look instead at the
preciousness of their treasure.
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The difference between birds on the wing, and
lovers of God, is that birds always fly in a certain
direction, while lovers of God fly on the wings of
their desire away from all directions.
Every horse has its stable, every beast its pen,
every bird its nest. And God knows best.
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