English
Return to the Tale of the Dervish in Love
A return to the story of that dervish in love, and how the wise old master showed him kindness; and one grasps the truths of its glad tidings by pondering the subtleties of its hints. God is the giver of success.
When that wise old master, awake in heart and knowing, came out of compassion to the side of the poor man,
he saw him sweetly snared in the trap of love, and gently drew him close, lifting him from the threshold.
He said: Welcome, new guest, you who have come this moment from a far country.
Welcome, newly arrived visitor, you who have come from the body into the city of the soul.
Welcome, greetings and ease to the lover; welcome, you have renewed the ancient covenant.
Welcome, you whose feet are bound in the snare of love; welcome, you whose eyes are drunk on the cup of love.
Welcome, casket of love's secrets; welcome, bird who feeds on the sugar of love.
Welcome, shining pearl of love; welcome, gem from the ocean of love.
Welcome, fruit of love's pages; welcome, eloquent parrot of love.
Welcome, candle that lights love's assembly; welcome, soul-burning flame of love.
Welcome, you have come in a fine hour; welcome, step gladly into my sight.
The curl in the hair of the Chinese emperor's daughter has drawn you sweetly to the city of China.
You have entered the soul, leaving the ruined body behind; the soul's air has happily freed you from the flesh.
If, by this curling, winding lock of hair, your feet are now caught in the ring of the trap of sorrows,
do not see it as evil, for this is the circle of God's friends; whoever is truly afflicted is free of his own self.
The one who worships its grief grew glad; the one bound by its chain was set free.
So seize the chance, for this city of China gives life to the soul; it is the dwelling of our Chinese king of kings.
It is the circle of the pure, free spirits of meaning; it is the band of the men of Chinese soil.
This land of China is the true homeland, and love for that certainty springs from faith itself.
What is China but the kingdom of meaning, the city of the soul, the world of divine names, a station given freely?
The man of China is the noble master, awake in heart, aware of the road, the goal, and the desire.
Whoever holds the longing for China in his head, know for certain that he is a man of faith.
If you carry the fervor of this passion in your head, learn the language and ways of the people of China.
They hold this belief in deepest earnest: that their king has fathered no child at all.
Just as the master of meaning has said, this tale within the book of the Masnavi:
'In China they all say in earnest of their own king that He begets not:'
'Our king has fathered no child at all; indeed He never let a woman near Himself.'
'Whoever among the kings did not speak of Him in this way found his neck wedded to the sharp sword.'
The people of China had their own ways of speaking, and held certain beliefs concerning the king.
If you long to reach the land of China,
you need a guide who knows that country.
Go and earnestly find that man of China,
if you are set on traveling to the city of China.
Beware, do not set foot there without a guide;
the king has those without a guide put to death.
The city of China is full of turmoil and hatred;
this city tears out the very roots of faith and unbelief alike.
This city of China has seen many a heedless soul
left hand and head, undone, in its streets.
It has seen many a heart drowning in its own blood;
its moat is filled with severed heads.
Whoever has no help from his master
has not the courage to enter the city of China.
If he goes without that noble master's support,
that city scatters his foundation to the wind.
Without the grace of God and God's chosen ones,
even if you were an angel, your page would be black.
Beware, do not go there without a guide,
lest you be ignorant of the customs of the road.
Do not go there without the guidance of a master;
whatever he says, listen with heart and soul.
Until your master grants you leave, say nothing;
even your good, without his leave, turns to bad.
Hold your breath from unworthy words,
lest you speak falsely before that king.
Make no false claim in his presence;
speak no idle, fruitless chatter.
Do not, before the king of China, speak of child or wife;
without proof, breathe no word of his sacred ground.
Once you have said this, bring your evidence,
or surrender your life to his sharp sword.
The king will say: since you have made this claim,
prove at once that I have a household.
If you can prove that I have a daughter,
you will be safe from my sharp sword.
But if not, without doubt I will cut your throat
and strip the cloak of life from your Sufi body.
Look, you who speak falsely out of ignorance:
here is a moat full of severed heads.
A moat, from its depths up to the throat,
filled with heads cut off for their excess.
So speak of the moon behind its cloud,
lest you become acquainted with his sword.
And if you speak, you must prove your claim;
better that you become checkmated before him.
Whoever was checkmated by our king has won;
and whoever made a claim and showed himself off has lost.
If you want the kingdom and the daughter, checkmate yourself;
otherwise, quickly prove that a daughter exists.
If the passion for China fills your head,
the love of the king of China's daughter is your goal.
Negate yourself and affirm only him;
be checkmated by him, be checkmated, be checkmated by him.
The custom of China is checkmate, the path of that purity,
but it comes through the gates of the masters of faithfulness.
Who are the masters of faithfulness? The lights of God,
the wearers of the crown of kingship, foremost of all.
The prophets and their chosen successors
have been the guides and the road itself in every age.
For now there is no one but Mahdi; today he alone wears this crown.
He is the path and the knowing guide; whoever takes any other road is lost.
Since he is now hidden behind the veil of the unseen, his deputy is the one who leads and guides.
For now his deputy is the God-fearing scholar of law, the perfect knower, not the wretched pretender to mysticism.
I am not saying every Sufi is wretched; rather I say that every false one is wretched.
Who is false? The one chained to his desires, a slave to his own ego and heedless of God.
Whoever turns false, this is the ruling for him, whether you call him a Sufi or a jurist.
In short, do not set out for China without a guide, but do not become snared in just any guide's trap either.
How many a devil there is in human form; so you must not place your hand in just any hand.
Here I wanted to explain the way, to make the travelers aware of the path.
I wanted to say a little of the customs of the King of China, and to describe the journey along China's road.
I wanted to tell the manners and customs of the people of China, and reveal the secrets of unbelief and faith.
Suddenly a message reached me from the King of China: turn your reins back from this station.
Fall silent on this matter for a while; keep the secret of our China's road hidden.
If you would speak of the radiance of China's road, then speak to people according to the measure of their minds.
Do you know what this radiance of the road is? It is the veil of illusion drawn over the hidden secret.
From now on speak of Machin, not of China; say no more about the state of that poor wretch.
What is this 'ma' (we/not)? It is the veil over the secret of the work, and it also points to the negation of all but the Creator.
Common folk imagine Machin is a dwelling place; the knowers understand it is nothing but the negation of all otherness.
Though the 'ma' utterly negates that otherness, 'chin' (China) affirms the essence of the Truth.
Whoever knows there is nothing other than the pure China, has nothing to fear if he wanders toward Machin.
'There is no god' (la ilah) is unbelief, and 'except' (illa) is faith; what is the 'la' but 'ma', and 'illa' but China.
If, for the sake of faith, you pass through the unbelief of the 'la', you will enter the fortress of the China of 'illa'.
And in that Machin you will see nothing but the One; without doubt you will find unity within multiplicity.
When the King of China's message reached me, my pen broke and my paper tore.
Inevitably I held back from this telling; with that, my resolve was undone and my purpose broken.
God knows it was He who stopped my breath, who undid my resolve and broke my purpose.
My resolve was undone by the King's message; my purpose was broken from that threshold.
Though we have no resolve in any matter, our only purpose is the wish of the Beloved.
Where do the knowers have a resolve or a purpose of their own? The resolve and purpose of the knowers, all in one, is God.
But that grief was only the veil of the knower; inside the veil, he was fully aware of himself.
The radiance of our true meaning was in the highest heaven; its reflection lent splendor to the sun itself.
When it saw you wrapped in the veil of the body, it slipped from its high station into a small corner.
Through these attachments it descended to the sphere of the sun; how strange, our ascent ran in reverse.
The veils of the body became a lid over the soul, giving a place within space to what belongs beyond space.
Yes, the contingent needs a fitting place; but the realm of nearness to God is a different station.
It is the seat of truth, and a door to the soul, so it may go and dwell near the Mighty King.
Since this kingdom lies behind concealment and veil, the Prophet said: the believer is a stranger.
You are a stranger to this dwelling, an exile, yet bound close to it through the veil of form and body.
When it fell down from the summit of the heaven, it took its place in the sphere of the visible sun.
What is this sun, these outward displays that this eye of ours can grasp?
Yet you cannot stare straight into that light; whoever stares at it is left dazzled and blind.
Set aside the dazzling and walk the path of humility; seek the sign of the inward through the outward.
It has come down in tradition that the sun's light draws its brightness from the light of God.
It is one share out of a hundred thousand and more, though God's light has no measure or number.
A single atom of God's light shone upon the sun, and from that light it gained this worth and splendor.
If you look well at the outward sun, from it you will find your way to the inward sun.
The outward sun, this heavenly orb, nurtures and sustains the earthly world.
From it both the bitter gourd and the wild pear grow; but consider how far apart these two truly are.
When it shines on a rose garden, it deepens the perfume; from that same light a dunghill gives off only foulness.
It brings out the inner nature of everything, whatever it is, whether good or bad.
Like rain that falls upon a meadow, from which tulips and jasmine rise.
But when it falls on barren, salty ground, the rain of mercy yields no harvest at all.
This comes from the difference in the ground, not from any failing in the rain's work.
The bounty of this sun, too, is fitting; in giving it is neither stingy nor lacking.
If such is the way of the sun of the sky, the inward sun follows the same law.
Since the sign of the inward lies in the outward, everyone with certainty knows this meaning.
As this sun gives its bounty according to capacity, the inward sun, too, gives by measure of readiness.
So make yourself a vessel ready for the bounty, that it may show its splendor in earnest.
As far as you can, strive for purity of heart, so the sea of grace may surge toward you.
Don't go looking for water; build up a thirst instead, and then the water will gush up to you from above and below.
Seek a resolve charged with the light of this sun, and seek it through the language of your inner state, not the words on your lips.