Masnavi i Ma'navi — trans. E. H. Whinfield (abridged) (1898)

NOTES:

• 1. See Gulshan i Raz, I. 850.
• 2. Koran vi. 77.
• 3. Koran cxii. 3.

STORY VII. The Man who prayed earnestly to be fed without work.

In the time of the prophet David there was a man who used to pray day and night, saying, "Thou hast created me weak and helpless; give me my daily bread without obliging me to work for it." The people derided him for making such a foolish petition, but he still persisted, and at last a cow ran into his house of its own accord, and he killed and ate it. This illustrates the saying of the Prophet that God loves earnest petitioners, because He regards the sincerity of the prayer more than the nature of the thing prayed for. All things praise God, but the praises of inanimate things are different from the praises of men, and those of a Sunni different from those of a Compulsionist (Jabri). Each says the other is in the way of error, but none but the truly spiritual man knows the truth. Knowledge or conviction, opposed to opinion. Little is known by any one but the spiritual man, Who has in his heart a touchstone of vital truth. The others, hovering between two opinions, Fly towards their nest on a single wing. Knowledge has two wings, opinion only one wing; Opinion is weak and lopsided in its flight. The bird having but one wing quickly drops down, And again flies on two steps or more. This bird of opinion goes on rising and falling On one wing, in hope to reach his nest. When he escapes from opinion and knowledge is seen, This bird gains two wings and spreads both of them. Afterwards he "goes upright on a straight path, Not grovelling on his face or creeping." l He flies up on two wings even as the angel Gabriel, Free of opinion, of duplicity, and of vain talk. Though the whole world say to him, "Thou art firm in the road of God's faith," He is not made more ardent by their saying this, Nor is his lofty soul inclined from its course. And though all say to him, "Thou art in the wrong way Thou thinkest thyself a rock who art but a blade of grass," He relapses not into opinion at their rebukes, Nor is he vexed at their malevolence. Nay, even if sea and mountains should cry out, Saying, "Thou art mated with error," He would not relapse one jot into vain imaginations, Nor would he be grieved by the reproaches of his foes.

NOTES:

1. Koran lxvii, 22.

STORY VIII. The Boys and their Teacher.

To illustrate the force of imagination or opinion, a story is told of a trick played by boys upon their master. The boys wished to obtain a holiday, and the sharpest of them suggested that when the master came into the school each boy should condole with him on his alleged sickly appearance. Accordingly, when he entered, one said, "O master, how pale you are looking!" and another said, "You are looking very ill today," and so on. The master at first answered that there was nothing the matter with him, but as one boy after another continued assuring him that he looked very ill, he was at length deluded into imagining that he must really be ill. So he returned to his house, making the boys follow him there, and told his wife that he was not well, bidding her mark how pale he was. His wife assured him he was not looking pale, and offered to convince him by bringing a mirror; but he refused to look at it, and took to his bed. He then ordered the boys to begin their lessons; but they assured him that the noise made his head ache, and he believed them, and dismissed them to their homes, to the annoyance of their mothers. Apropos of the sharpness of the boy who devised this trick, the poet takes occasion to controvert the opinion of the Mu'tazalites, that all m en are born with equal ability, and to express his agreement with the doctrine of the Sunnis, that the innate capacities of men vary very greatly.

STORY IX. The Darvesh who Broke his Vow.