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

A sage went out to till his field, and saw a peacock busily engaged in destroying his own plumage with his beak. At seeing this insane self-destruction the sage could not refrain himself, but cried out to the peacock to forbear from mutilating himself and spoiling his beauty in so wanton a manner. The peacock then explained to him that the bright plumage which he admired so much was a fruitful source of danger to its unfortunate owner, as it led to his being constantly pursued by hunters, whom he had no strength to contend against; and he had accordingly decided on ridding himself of it with his own beak, and making himself so ugly that no hunter would in future care to molest him. The poet proceeds to point out that worldly cleverness and accomplishments and wealth endanger man's spiritual life, like the peacock's plumage; but, nevertheless, they are appointed for our probation, and without such trials there can be no virtue. "There is no monkery in Islam."1 Tear not thy plumage off it cannot be replaced; Disfigure not thy face in wantonness, O fair one! That face which is bright as the forenoon sun, To disfigure it were a grievous sin. 'Twere paganism to mar such a face as thine! The moon itself would weep to lose sight of it! Knowest thou not the beauty of thine own face? Quit this temper that leads thee to war with thyself! It is the claws of thine own foolish thoughts That in spite wound the face of thy quiet soul. Know such thoughts to be claws fraught with poison, Which score deep wounds on the face of thy soul. Rend not thy plumage off, but avert thy heart from it For hostility between them is the law of this holy war. Were there no hostility, that war would be impossible. lladst thou no lust, obedience to the law could not be. 2

Hadst thou no concupiscence there could be no abstinence.
Where no antagonist, what need is there of armies?
Ah! make not thyself an eunuch, 3 not a monk,
Because chastity is mortgaged to lust.
Without lust denial of lust is impossible
No man can display bravery against the dead.
God says, "Expend;" 4 wherefore earn money.
Since expenditure is impossible without previous gain?
Although the passage contains only the word "Expend,"
Read "Acquire first, and then expend."
In like manner, when the King of kings says "Abstain," 5
It implies an object of desire wherefrom to abstain.
Again, "Eat ye," is said recognising the snares of lust,
And afterwards, " Exceed not," 6 to enjoin temperance.
When there is no subject,
The existence of a predicate is not possible. 7
When thou endurest not the pains of abstinence
And fulfillest not the terms, thou gainest no reward.
How easy those terms! how abundant that reward!
A reward that enchants the heart and charms the soul!

This is followed by the admonition that the only way to be safe from one's internal enemies is to annihilate self, a,nd to be absorbed in the eternity of God, as the light of the stars is lost in the light of the noonday sun. Everything but God is at once preyed on by others, and itself preys on others, like the fowl which, when catching a worm, was itself caught by a cat. Men are so intent on their own low objects of pursuit that they see not their foes who are trying to make them their prey. Thus it is said, "Before them have we set a barrier, and behind them a barrier, so that they shall not see." 8 Persons who lust after the vile pleasures of this world, and desire long life, not to serve God, but to satisfy their own carnal lusts, resemble the crow slain by Abraham, because he only lived for the sake of carrion; or Iblis, who prayed to be respited till the day of judgment, not for the purpose of reforming himself but only to do mischief to mankind. 9 Prayers to God to change our base inclinations and give us higher aspirations. O Thou that changest earth into gold, And out of other earth madest the father of mankind, Thy business is changing things and bestowing favors, My business is mistakes and forgetfulness and error. Change my mistakes and forgetfulness to knowledge; I am altogether vile, make me temperate and meek. O Thou that convertest salt earth into bread, And bread again into the life of men; Thou who madest the erring soul a guide to men, And him that erred from the way a prophet; 10 Thou makest some earth-born men as heaven, And muitipliest heaven-born saints on earth! But whoso seeks his water of life in worldly joys, To him comes death quicker than to the rest. The eyes of the heart which behold the heavens