Spiritual Courtesy and Respect

Mathnawi, I:78-91

(About) requesting from God,* the Protecting Lord of Grace,

the favor of observing (spiritual) courtesy and respect in every

situation, and explaining the harmfulness and losses (which

result) from rudeness

We should seek from God the favor of [behaving with] (spiritual)

courtesy and respect,* (since) the rude person is excluded from the

grace of the Lord.

The rude person doesn't keep himself in (a state of) affliction

alone, but sets fire to all the regions (of the world).

A table* was arriving from Heaven without (any effort of) buying

and selling and talking and listening.*

(But then), in the midst of the people of Moses, some persons

spoke rudely: "Where (are) garlic and lentils?"*

The table and bread from Heaven was ended [immediately], (and)

there remained for us* the painful toil of farming with shovel [for

planting] and scythe [for reaping].

Again, when Jesus interceded (with prayers), God sent a table*

with an abundance (of food) on trays.

(Yet) again, (those) insolent ones ones abandoned courtesy and

respect, (and) took the food [home with them] like beggars.*

Jesus asked them earnestly [to be respectful], saying, "(But) this

(food) is enduring and won't be decreased from the earth."

Acting suspiciously and bringing greed to the table of (Divine)

Grandeur is rejection and ingratitude.*

(And so), because of those people, with faces like beggars and

blinded by greed, that gate of (Divine) Mercy became shut for them.

After the refusal of (paying) charity (for the poor),* the (rain)

clouds do not come. And when unlawful sex* occurs, the plague

(spreads) to (all) directions.

Whatever gloom and grief comes to you is because of reckless

impudence and also insolence.

Whoever acts with bold impudence in the path of the Beloved is a

highway robber of the (true) men [of the spiritual Way] and is not a

man.

By means of (spiritual) courtesy and respect, the Heavens became

full of light, and by means of (such) respect the angels became

innocent and pure.

(But) the sun became eclipsed because of insolence. (And) because

of rashness, an (angel such as) Azazeel* was turned away from the

gate [to the angelic realm].

-- From "The MathnawO-yE Ma`nawO" [Rhymed Couplets

of Deep Spiritual Meaning] of Jalaluddin Rumi.

Translated from the Persian by Ibrahim Gamard

(with gratitude for R.A. Nicholson's 1926 British

translation)

Footnotes courtesy of Ibrahim Gamard

*(About) requesting from God: this heading was apparently

forgotten, but was added to the margin of the earliest extant

manuscript of the Mathnawi (the "Konya manuscript").

Just prior to this section was the beginning of Rumi's first story

about the king and the handmaiden. After the king fell in love with

her and bought her, she immediately became gravely ill. When his

physicians were unable to cure her, he went into the mosque [masjid]

to pray and "the place of prostration [sajda-g,h] became filled with

the king's tears" (I:56). He fell asleep and dreamed about a wise man

who would be sent by God to help him. When the wise man was

seen to be approaching the next day, instead of sending his important

officials, the king himself went out to greet him, and said: "You were

my (true) beloved, not that (maiden).... Oh you are to me (like)

Muhammad, (and) I am like (his companion) `Umar. I will prepare

myself for the sake of serving you" (I:76-77) Following this example

of exceptional courtesy and respect, Rumi explains the importance of

spiritual courtesy.

*(spiritual) courtesy and respect: "adab may be defined as the

character, feelings, and manners which are the fruit of spiritual

culture. The reverence shown by the King to the Sage and by `Umar

to the Prophet (v. 77) naturally suggests this brief homily on a subject

so important for novices in S'fism." (Nicholson, Commentary)

*A table: this word occurs in the Qur'an to describe a "table" of food

from Heaven which the Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) prayed

for and received (5:114). But here the word refers to the manna and

quails sent to the people of Moses in the desert: "And We shaded

them with clouds, and We sent down to them manna and quails,

(saying), 'Eat from among the good things that We have provided to

you'.. But they did harm to themselves" [by complaining]. (Qur'an

7:160; 2:57) It seems that manna is a sweet gum secreted from

tamarisk bushes in the Sinai desert (Y*suf `AlO, "The Holy Qur'an:

Text, Translation, and Commentary," p. 31).

*garlic and onions: the people of Moses complained, "O Moses, we

cannot endure one kind of food (only), so pray to your Lord for us,

to bring forth for our sake of what the earth grows: its herbs, its

cucumbers, its garlic, its lentils, and its onions." (2:61)

*talking and listening: means bargaining for a good price. Nicholson

later corrected his translation, based on the earliest manuscript of the

Mathnawi to: "without buying and selling and without speaking and

hearing" (from, "without headache (trouble) and without selling and

buying."

*there remained for us: Nicholson later corrected his translation, to:

"there remained for us (their successors) the toil of sowing, etc."

(from, "there remained (for all of them) the toil of sowing and

(labouring with) mattock and scythe." (Commentary)

*God sent a table: a "table" of food from Heaven which the Prophet

Jesus (peace be upon him) prayed for and received: "When the

disciples said, 'O Jesus son of Mary, can your Lord send down to us

a table from Heaven?' He said, 'Be in awe of God [attaq* 'll,h] if

you are (truly) believers'" (5:114). The disciples said that they only

wanted to eat, as well as to know for certain, by seeing a miracle, that

Jesus spoke the truth. Jesus prayed for food from heaven as a sign

(of Divine support) and for sustenance from God who is the Best of

Providers. God agreed to send it down, but warned of punishment

for any who denied faith after this (miracle-- 5:116-118).

In Persian, the word translated as "table" can mean a tray of food,

but generally refers to the Middle Eastern custom of eating on the

floor or ground with the food placed upon a cloth, or occasionally

upon leather.

*like beggars: refers to the custom according to which guests were

allowed to take food home with them after being invited to a meal. "It

was not unusual (though considered unmannerly) for greedy guests

to collect and carry away the food left over from a feast. Such a

person was called zallah-band." (Nicholson, Commentary)

*rejection and ingratitude [kufr]: a Quranic term which also means

unbelief and denial (toward the truth of the Oneness of God and the

revelation sent to the prophets).

*charity (for the poor): one of the "five pillars" of Islam-- the

requirement for Muslims to donate once a year to the poor

approximately two and half percent of one's available wealth, if one

is not poor. This verse refers to the punishment believed to follow

widespread refusal or avoidance, not just a few cases.

*unlawful sex [zin,]: this word means any kind of sexual relations

outside marriage-- by the married (adultery) or by the unmarried

(fornication), believed, when prevalent, to be the cause of plague.

"The commentators quote from Traditions: wa-l. mana`' l-zak.ta ill.

hubisa `anhumu 'l-qatr [= "And there is no refusal of the (required)

charity except that the rain is seized (and taken away) from them"]

and idh. ra'aytum' 'l-wab. a qad fash. fa-`lam' anna 'l-zin, qad

fash." [= "When you see that the plague has definitely spread, know

that shameful sexual conduct has definitely spread"]. (Nicholson,

Commentary)

*Azazeel: the name of Satan before his fall. His insolence was to

refuse to bow in obeisance to Adam when all the angels were

commanded to do so. Satan refused, with the arrogant claim that he

was superior to Adam since he was made from "fire" but Adam was

made from (mere) clay (Qur',n 7:11-12). Satan also arrogantly

blamed God for his own fall: "You caused me to err" (7:16), whereas

Adam and Eve showed humble respect to God by saying, "O Lord!

We have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and show

mercy to us, we will surely be among the lost!" (7:23)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

az khod,wand-E waliyyu 'l-tawfOq dar khw,stan-E tawfOq

ri`,yat-E adab dar hama H,l-h,-wo bay,n kardan-E

wakh,mat-E Zarar-h,y-I bI-adabO

az khod, jUy-Im tawfOq-E adab

bI-adab maHr*m gasht az luTf-E rab

bI-adab tan-h, na khwad-r, d,sht bad

bal-ke ,tesh dar hama ,f,q zad

m,yida az ,sm,n dar mI-rasOd

bI-shir*-wo bay`-o bI-goft-o shenOd

dar mey,n-E qawm-E m*s* chand kas

bI-adab goft-and kU sIr-o `adas?

munqati` shod khw,n-o n,n az ,sm,n

m,nd ranj-E zar`-o bIl-o d,s-em,n

b,z `Os* ch*n shif,`at kard, Haq

khw,n ferest,n-o ghanOmat bar Tabaq

b,z gost,kh-,n adab be-g'Z,sht-and

ch*n gad,-y,n zalla-h, bar d,sht-and

l,ba karda `Os* Ish,n-r, ke On

d,yim-ast-o kam na-gard-ad az zamOn

bad-gom,nO kardan-o HirS-,warO

kufr b,sh-ad pIsh-E khw,n-E mehtarO

z-,n gad,-rUy-,n-E n,-dOda ze-,z

,n dar-E raHmat bar-Ish,n shod far,z

abr bar n-,y-ad pay-E man`-E zak,t

w-az zin, oft-ad wab, andar jih,t

har-che bar tU ,y-ad az Zulm,t-o gham

,n ze-bI-b,kO-wo gost,khO-st ham

az adab por-n*r gasht-ast On falak

w-az adab ma`S*m-o p,k ,mad malak

bod ze-gost,khO kas*f-E ,ft,b

shod `,z,zOlI ze-jur'at radd-E b,b

-- Persian transliteration courtesy of Ibrahim Gamard