Shopkeeper and a Parrot!
All shall be dust, the fighting, the fight, and who blame
The hypocrite hath come with the believer to pray in a mosque.
He is there to compete with him, not to humble before God.
In praying, fasting, in pilgrimage, or in paying alms
Believers compete with hypocrites in welfare and alms.
Lastly, certain to win the game, believers are there
The unbelievers are sure to lose in the world hereafter.
Though both have betted on the same ground
In opposition to Persian and Arabic, they do sound. (7)
Everyone leaves for his particular station.
Each befitting specific attribute human
“Believer” listening to the call over delights,
Addressed “hypocrite” one with revenge frights.
His name is dear due to the purity of his essence.
This name bears grudging spite and nuisance.
Letters ‘M’, ‘O’, ‘M’, ‘I’, ‘N’ hold no ‘Nobility’ (8)
The word “Momin” hath but an exquisite identity.
Anyone pronounced “hypocrite” deems it an insult.
Like the sting of a scorpion, his heart hurts.
If this attribute is not carved of Fire from Hell
Why does it taste so? Let anybody please tell!
The evil doth bears its quality not due to the name.
Seawater is bitter in itself; pot is not to shame.
The letters are pots, their meaning water it holds
Meanings, in effect, look toward ‘Tablet Preserved’ (9)
The sweet and saline currents along each other tread
They respect, follow discipline, and do not blend (10)
Acknowledge! They erupt from the same source;
Don’t get stuck in differences; reach the essence (11)
Whether polluted or gold is pure, none may behest
None can trust the worth until touchstone doth test (12)
Allah sets a touchstone in His favored heart,
No doubt recognizing good from evil is His Art (13)
NOTES
(7) Marvazi, one who belongs to Marv, a place in Khurasan – Ajm – Persian; While Razi
is a resident of “Ray,” Iraq – Arab.
The Persian and Arabic cultures have been in great opposition to each other; the
Persians believed in polytheism, and Arabs in Abrahamic Monotheism. Persians had always regarded themselves as a civilized and sophisticated nation, regarding Arabs as uncouth, hard, and ill-mannered nomads. Though Islam had united them in one religion, and Hazrat Muhammad (SAW) had pronounced it, no Arabic bears any preference over Arabic, or vice versa. The final verdict lies with God depending upon individual character and behavior; still, the two cultures have not been able to resolve their historical enmity and exhibit it in the interpretation of religion, i.e., Sunni and Shi`ite Fiqh (jurisprudence).
(8) “Momin” is an honest and steadfast believer promised all good by Allah – the
Almighty. A Momin or a Muslim is not a believer because his name suggests so, but only when his character, his intentions, and his actions commend so. People who keep false pretenses but breed hypocrisy and malice toward true practitioners of faith in their hearts are not worthy of being called believers.
(See knowledge leaders: “false pretenders”)…
(9) Umm-al Kitab or Loh-i Mahfuz is the Preserved Tablet, which has inscribed on it the
original attributes of each creation, its function, and its relationship to other creations in the Universe.
(10) Here, Rumi refers to Mundus Imaginalis or “Imaginal world of forms,” where good and evil all exist together, flowing side by side in the same ocean ‘like sweet and salty currents, which do not override each other (Qur’an: 55:19-20). They may work in opposition. Perhaps they must to conform to their essence and preserve their identity. (See Alam al Mithal) …Click for detail …
It has been quoted by Dr. Witteveen in “Sufism in Action” “A scientific principle.
“synchronicity” has been discovered by a team of scientists with Albert Einstein in
(1935) and further elaborated by J.S. Bell (1964) when mathematical proof was provided, which implied that ‘ a deep and fundamental level the separate particles of the Universe are connected intimately and immediately.’” (p. 37)
(11) Good and evil are relative terms. A knowledge seeker must not get stuck in definitions and categorizing behavior as “good” or “evil.” He must reach the essence, i.e., he/she must neutralize the opposition in him/her; it is just recognizing and appreciating individual differences and not accepting evil in its essence. One way of fighting evil is to preserve the good in you. When you resort to evil tricks and methods just to win or fight, you become evil yourself.
(12) Good and evil are not self-proclaimed titles or allegations thrown by others; they are self-evident. Only when one undergoes the rigor of this world does the Divine test’s result declare who is good and who is evil (See Surah Asr: Qur’an: 103-1-3), the origin of Man’s unhappiness
(13) Only Allah’s favored persons can undergo a moral and spiritual transformation and can differentiate between “good” & “evil” in its roots.
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