The Mathnawi of Jalaluddin Rumi - Part 5
- Story 1
- Commenting on “Take four birds and turn them towards you.
- Concerning the occasion of the coming of the Tradition of Mustafá, the blessings of God be upon him, that the infidel takes his food in seven bowels, while the true believer takes his food in one bowel.
- The cause of the guest’s return to the house of Mustafá, on whom be peace, at the hour when Mustafá was washing his befouled bed-rug with his own hand; and how he was overcome with shame and rent his garment and made lamentation for himself and for his plight.
- Story 2
- Explaining that prayer and fasting and all external things are witnesses to the inner light.
- Description of the Peacock and its nature, and the cause of its being killed by Abraham,
- Story of the Arab of the desert whose dog was dying of hunger, while his wallet was full of bread; he was lamenting over the dog...
- The reason why Khalíl, on whom be peace, killed the crow, indicating the subjugation of certain blameworthy and pernicious qualities in the disciple.
- Story 3
- Story of Muhammad Khwárizmsháh who took by war the city of Sabzawár, where all are Ráfizís (extreme Shí‘ites). They begged him to spare their lives, he said, “I will grant security as soon as you produce from this city a man named Abu Bakr and present him to me.”
- The remainder of the Story of the gazelle in the donkey-stable.
- Commentary on “Truly I saw seven fat cows which seven lean cows devoured.” God had created those lean cows with the qualities of hungry lions,
- Explaining that the killing of the cock by Abraham, signifies the subdual and subjugation of certain blameworthy and pernicious qualities in the heart of the disciple.
- Story 4
- Commentary on “And He is with you.”
- Story of the lover who was recounting to his beloved his acts of service and loyalty and the long nights their sides heave up from their beds and the long days of want and parching thirst....and how the beloved answered him.
- A mystic saw a bitch big with young, in whose womb the young were barking. He remained in amazement,
- Story of the people of Zarwán and their envy of the poor. “Our father,” they said, “from simplicity used to give to the poor the most part of the produce of his orchard.” His sons saw the repeated payment of tithes, and did not see the blessing,
- On the beginning of the creation of the body of Adam, when He commanded Gabriel, saying, “Go, take a handful of clay from this Earth.”
- Story 5
- Reply to the simpleton who has said that this world would be delightful if there were no death and that the possessions of the present life would be delightful if they were not fleeting and other absurdities in the same style.
- (1845) Saying, “O angels, bring him back to Us, for his inward eye has been towards hope.
- How the turn came for Nasúh to be searched, and how a voice proclaimed, “We have searched them all, search Nasúh”; and how Nasúh became senseless from terror, and how after extreme oppression of spirit the way of deliverance was opened to him, as the Prophet of God: may God bless and save him ! used to say, whenever sickness or anxiety overtook him, “O distress, become severe: then you will pass away.”
- Story 6
- How the fox brought the ass to the lion, and how the ass jumped away from the lion, and how the fox reproached the lion, saying, “The ass was still far off: you were too hasty”; and how the lion made excuses and entreated the fox to go and trick him a second time.
- Story of an ass belonging to a seller of firewood, which saw some well-fed Arab horses in the royal stable and wished for the same fortune. This story conveys the lesson that one ought not to wish for anything but forgiveness and favour;
- Exposition of the meaning of trust in God, the Story of the ascetic who, making trial of his trust in God, abandoned his property and town and went far away from the beaten tracks and thoroughfares of men to the foot of a remote and inaccessible mountain, in extreme hunger he laid his head upon a stone and fell asleep, saying to himself, ‘I put trust in Your providing the means and daily bread; and I cut myself off from means in order that I may experience the causation of trust in God.’
- Parable of the camel, explaining that when someone tells of his good fortune and you do not perceive in him any appearance or sign of welfare, there is reason to suspect that he is an imitator of those who have really attained to spiritual felicity.
- Story 7
- Story of Shaykh Muhammad Sar-razí of Ghazna.
- How after many years the Shaykh came from the desert to the city of Ghazna and carried round the basket in obedience to the behest from the Unseen and distributed amongst the poor all that was collected...
- Story of the infidel whom, in the time of Bayazíd, they invited to become a Moslem; and how he answered them.
- Story 8
- Story of the woman who told her husband that the cat had eaten the meat, the husband put the cat in the balance. Her weight amounted to half a “pound”, he said, “O wife, the meat weighed half a ‘pound’ and more. If this is the meat, where is the cat? Or if this is the cat, where is the meat ?”
- Story of the Amír who bade his slave fetch some wine: the slave went off and was bringing a jug of wine, an ascetic was on the road admonished him that he should act righteously and threw a stone and smashed the jug; the Amír heard and resolved to punish the ascetic.
- Story of Ziyá-yi Dalq, who was very tall, while his brother, the Shaykh of Islam Táj of Balkh, was exceedingly short;
- Story of the guest concerning whom the wife of the master of the house said, “The rain has set in, and our guest is left on our hands.”
- Story 9
- How a father enjoined his daughter to take care lest she should become with child by her husband.
- How the champions counselled him, saying, “Since you have so little heart and stomach that you are made senseless by the rolling of a captive and pinioned infidel’s eyes, so that the dagger drops from your hand, take heed, take heed! Keep to the kitchen of the Sufi convent and do not go to battle lest you incur public disgrace !”
- Story of Iyadi, may God have mercy on him, who had taken part in seventy campaigns against the infidels and had always fought with his breast bare, in the hope that he might become a martyr;
- Story of the warrior who every day used to take one dirhem separately from a purse containing silver and throw it into a ditch for the purpose of thwarting the greed and cupidity of his fleshly soul;
- Story 10
- How an informer described a girl and exhibited the picture of her on paper, and how the Caliph of Egypt fell in love with it and sent an Amír with a mighty army to the gates of Mosul and made great slaughter and devastation for the purpose of obtaining the girl.
- How laughter took hold of that maidservant because of the weakness of the Caliph’s desire compared to the strength of the Captain’s lust, and how the Caliph understood about the maidservant’s laughter.
- Explaining that the words “We have apportioned” mean that He bestows on one the lust and strength of asses and on another the intelligence and strength of the prophets and the angels.
- Story 11
- How the King, in the midst of the Diwan and assembly-place, put a pearl in the hand of the Vizier and asked him what it was worth; and how the Vizier gave an extremely high estimate of its value; and when the King commanded him to break it, answered, “How should I break it ?” and so forth.
- Commentary on the Saying of Pharaoh’s magicians in the hour of their punishment, “it is no harm, for lo, we shall return unto our Lord.”
