Khawaja and the Hindi Parrot
(1) Refers to the downfall of the Archangel Iblis, who met the worst downfall after disobeying God to bow before Adam.
(2) God cannot be comprehended (Qur’an: 6:103); the human mind can only conceive of God subjectively because it cannot see Him or describe Him (Qur’an: 42:11)
(3) Allah is above all bounds and measures known to the human mind.
(4) Man may overcome his flaws in the light of Divine Guidance through Self-mortification
(5)The first drop is the first verse revealed to Hazrat Muhammad (SAW), which connected his knowledge with the Divine Knowledge System. Rumi implores God to please let us comprehend and appreciate that knowledge well.
(6) It comes in Qur’an: 32:9: “But He fashioned him in due proportion, and breathed into him something of His spirit (Ruh). And He gave you (the faculties of) hearing and sight and feeling (and understanding): little thanks do ye give!”
(7) Since the soul is the nearest (Aqrab) to God. Qalb (soul-centre) receives Divine Knowledge and is the sole instrument for carrying on Divine Communion between Man & God. It is beseeched that one’s intellect may not be at the mercy of the whims of the lower soul but reigns free by intellection through Rational Soul.
See more on the human soul & Self-mortification. Click for details…
Human beings lead their lives at two levels: one at the animal or physical level and the other at the human or spiritual level. At the animal level, our goals are standard: self-preservation and procreation. At the spiritual level, too, we require an absolute and permanent standard. The (Ruh) is divine energy for the function of the soul. It is an exclusive gift from God to every human being that separates humans from other animate and inanimate objects in the Universe. However, this divine gift of “Ruh” is given as a latent potential, and human life aims to develop it. The realization of “Ruh” into the “human self” is the spiritual dimension of human existence, which requires an absolute, permanent standard to measure its growth provided through Divine Guidance.
(8) “khassaf” is the capacity of the earth to drag and pull things into itself. Similarly, the lower soul has the capacity to indulge human beings in their earthly desires and petty commitments to this world.
(9) The strong winds are from “pneuma /hawa” or passion: The hot winds of desire agitate the rational soul and shrivel the Qalb. Click for details…!
(10) God is but oft-returning. A human being may think he is powerful and rules with the might of his animal soul, but he forgets that he is blessed with one-millionth of one billionth (perhaps much lesser than that as there is no comparison of God’s power with Man) part of Allah’s might. When He the Absolute One exercises His Might & pulls one to Himself, none can deny that pull.
(11) One may be hidden in the deepest cover of ignorance and heedlessness; Allah has full capacity and authority to recover him and put him to light. ‘Addam’ is nothingness. Qur’an reads, “To Him is due the primal origin of the heavens and the earth: When He decreeth a matter, He saith to it: “Be” and it is.” (2:117) He has further said, (82: 6-8) O man! What has seduced thee from thy Lord Most Beneficent? Him Who created thee. Fashioned thee in due proportion, and gave thee a just bias; In whatever Form He wills, does He put thee together.
A window to Mathnavi Maulvi Ma’nvi
Translation and Commentary Seema Arif
Further Links for Rumi
(12) Life casts challenges in every existence. Some struggle to survive, some to excel, but life’s rigor is necessary for all. There are millions of opposites working to overpower each other. The success shall be granted to whom God may Will. (30:5) (See Surah Asr)
Click for detail ….
(13) Life is in constant process of being: It is constantly becoming one from another. It also hints that life may change forms and does not interrupt its continuity. One of the basic beliefs of Muslims is resurrection. That life was present in some form before coming into this world and shall continue in some form hereafter. Qur’an says, “To Him will be your return – of all of you. The promise of Allah is true and sure. It is He Who beginneth the process of creation and repeateth it…” (10:4)
(14) True worshippers rise before dawn to say their morning prayer. All birds sing praises of God Then, Allah Hu – God is there.
(15) The life process repeats itself. Qur’an reads: “See, they are not how Allah originates creation, but they repeat it: truly, that is easy for Allah. Say: “Travel through the earth and see how Allah did originate creation; so will Allah produce a later creation: for Allah has power over all things.” (29: 20-21)
(16) The human “self” is that projected image of oneself created through information procured and stored through our five senses. The wakefulness demands being revived in one’s spirit. The opening of “inner-eye” of Qalb makes one live and conscious of not just one’s own existence but to the whole life process and is only possible through Divine Guidance.
(17) We may see ‘what is not there’ and smell through imagination or remembrance. So is one reminded of God, his benevolence and bounties bestowed upon us in Life through His kind remembrance.
(18) Cistern of Kauthar is one of the streams of Paradise promised to steadfast believers.
(19) Prophet Jacob had been blinded because of weeping too much in the bereavement of his beloved Son, Joseph. When his shirt was brought to him, its scent returned the light of his eyes. He could now “see” Joseph. Smell is the keenest of senses endowed to human beings. It is overpowered by sight but leads a blind. So, if one does not know how to reach his goal, he must use his imagination.
(20) “Shirin Farhad” and “Laila Majnun” are celebrated lovers of Persian folklore. In Love, the roles do not matter. All are one: the beloveds and the lovers are beloved. Rumi advises us: Do not go for a status; adopt a role to reach a goal.
At the worldly level, it gave a message of hope and faith to Muslims who were downtrodden by attacks of heathen Mongols. It assures them they may relive as a nation by realigning and reforming themselves in light of Divine Guidance. However, they shall have to forgo all social evils that have corrupted them to reach this goal. Rumi admonishes the Muslims to stop fighting for physical existence but strive hard for their intellectual and moral development, being ‘the vicegerent’ of God in this life process.
( Copyright 2024 ) Dr. Seema Arif All rights reserved.
All material on this page is Seema Arif’s original writing. Using it in any form of publication and print media without prior permission will be considered a violation of rights. When quoting research papers, proper referencing should be used.