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| Rumi�s Comment on saying of Farid-ud-Din Attar |
| Commentary & Translation by Seema Arif |
| �Thou art man of lust, must drink blood in earthen cup
Men of heart may take poison, into honey it is done� |
| Men of heart are not hurt at all
Though had taken poison fatal (1) Healed are free may avoid preventive measure While poor student is still shivering from fear Muhammad (SAW) has said, O rude follower ! Thee dare not equal the potential of a master (2) Ahmad (SAW) has so told, want disgrace you do You may dare argue or quarrel with your guru Thou art but Namrood don�t you go near fire Still wanting thee first taste Abraham�s desire Neither do you belong to river nor do you swim Why being insolent throwing thyself over brim He dives deep in sea to bring about pearls He due benefits from misadventure hurls Ideal man touches dust turns it to gold Imperfect waste gold to dust so is told (3) The flawed hand is that of Satan and Devil Since it is caught in web of deceit and guile The truthful person is such favorite of God Indeed in all deeds his hand doth He hold Ignorance bears not to wisdom it doth rise The imperfect waste knowledge to demise The sick but attract illness in every region Believer�s unbelief is pronounced religion! (3) |
| NOTES |
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| (1) Keeping in context a reference to Jesus Christ � The leader of men of heart- in the previous section, one is reminded of the fact told in Qur'an that �He is not dead�.but is lifted safely to 4th heaven along with Zilkifl and Alijah. Similarly The fire did not burn Abraham, and the knife did not work on Ishmael. The boat of Noah was safely reached a shore. Jonah (Yunus) spent 40 days in the stomach of fish, and was thrown out alive. Moses was not drowned in the sea; however the water followed wherever army of Pharaoh reached.
(2) This passage describes the etiquettes of learning and the mannerism required to pursue on path of knowledge. One can never be disrespectful to one�s teachers. Egotism does not work in seeking true knowledge. One has to humble before one�s teachers, if one wants to succeed. So one must be careful enough not to insult the accomplished masters. (3) The accomplished masters do not just sermonize or moralize others; they truly possess the powers of �Spiritual Alchemy� of morally transforming the person, making the most ignorant the most wise, as did our Hazrat Muhammad (SAW) by turning the uncouth Arab Bedouins into the most powerful nation of world. (4) Many philosophers and men of reason insult and humiliate the knowledge of Sufi saints and prophets. Some make jest of their appearances and some are highly skeptical of their sayings. But Rumi reminds them �Believer�s unbelief is pronounced religion!� (See more on Sainthood & friendship of Allah) 'It is all about adopting a role and not acquiring a position.' So to speak of masters Ibn Arabi has told us in 'Fusus', the vulgar seek the robe - the khila or favor of the king, so that others might wonder and say "How excellent this robe is!" and he will see it as the limit of rank. But one who dives for the pearls of wisdom, looks at the quality and not utility of the robe and how long it�s going to endure. By it, he knows the degree of the one it covers, and so he stumbles onto a knowledge which no one else has obtained from those without knowledge of such matters. Learn more |
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