He is the Governor of the Universe

Mathnawi II: 1618-32

1618 If He makes air and fire (to be) lowly,¹ and if He makes the 
thorn to surpass the rose, 

He is the Governor (of the Universe) and (the One who said about 
Himself), “God does what He wills.”² For He creates the remedy 
from the source of the pain. 

1620 (So) if He makes air and fire (to be) lowly, making (them full 
of) darkness, (murky) dregs, and sediment,³

And if He makes earth and water⁴ (to be) lofty (and) makes the 
way to Heaven (to be) undertaken by [human] foot⁵— 

Then it has been certain that, (as in the verse), “You exalt 
whomever You will,”⁶ God has said to an earthly creature: “Open 
(your) wings (and soar)!”⁷

(Just as) He said to a fiery creature, “Go (and) become (like) 
Satan;⁸ go underneath the Seventh Earth⁹ with (your) 
deceitfulness.¹⁰

(And as He said: “O) earthly Adam, go on top of the star Suhâ¹¹! (O) 
fiery Satan, go as far as the (lowest) dust! 

1625 (And He also said), “I am not (limited by) the four 
temperaments¹² or the original cause (of any event).¹³ (Rather), I am 
remaining in eternal control¹⁴ (of all things). 

“My actions are without (need of) cause and (are) direct and 
undeviating. O ailing one, the (power to) Decree is mine (with) no 
(other) cause. 

I change my own practice¹⁵ according to the (particular) time: at a 
(particular) time, I may place (obscuring) dust¹⁶ in front [of 
people]. 

“I will say to the sea (on the Day of Judgment): ‘Pay heed! Become 
full of fire!’¹⁷ (And) I will say to the fire: ‘Go (and) become a rose 
bower!’¹⁸

“I will say to the mountain: ‘Become as light as wool!’¹⁹ (And) I 
will say to the sky: ‘Tear down (yourself)²⁰ in front of the eyes (of 
people).’ 

1630 “I will say, ‘O sun! Become fastened to the moon!’²¹ (And) I 
will make both (of them to look) like two black clouds. 

“We²² will make the fountain of the Sun (to become) dry. (And) 
We²³ will make the fountain of blood (to become) musk.” 

1632 (In such a case), the sun and moon (will become) like two 
black oxen²⁴ (with) God binding a “yoke”²⁵ upon (their) necks. 

–From “The Mathnawî-yé Ma`nawî” [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) 
© Ibrahim Gamard (translation, footnotes, & transliteration) 
Translated, 10/16/03, as a favor to the Rumi Society of Vancouver,
Canada 

Notes on the text, with line number: 

¹(1618) If He makes air and fire (to be) lowly: “Therefore, Hazrat-i 
Mawlana, on the basis of the Ahl-i Sunnat, is saying, ‘Air and fire 
have a lofty nature, but if God wishes, He makes both lowly…. 
And similarly, the rose has a greater value and a lofty rank, but (if) 
God wishes, He makes the lowly thorn to more lofty, desirable, 
and loved than the rose.'” (translated from a Persian translation of 
Anqaravi, the 17th century Ottoman Turkish Mevlevi commentator 
on the Masnavi) 

²(1619) God does what He wills: “(The angel said), ‘That is the 
manner in which God does what He wills [yaf`alu ‘llâhu mâ 
yashâ]” (Qur’an 3:39). Just prior to this verse, the Prophet Zakarîya 
asked God, “My Lord, how can I have a son when I am very old 
and my wife is barren?” “God, whenever He pleases, makes the 
so-called ‘laws’ of natural philosophy null and void. See I 830-853 
and notes ad loc.” [= ” (God is the only real Agent. All causes in 
the phenomenal world are secondary; they are created by God and 
subject to essential causes, viz. the Divine Names and Attributes, 
which determine the production or non-production of all effects 
whatsoever.”] (Nicholson, Commentary) 

³(1620) sediment [Suflî]: a word play on “lowly” [suflî] in the first 
half of the verse. This verse was added in the margin in the oldest 
manuscript of the Masnavi. 

⁴(1621) earth and water: means the human body, made of “water 
and clay,” ascended fully into the Heavens like several of the 
Prophets (see note below). Here, Rumi has mentioned the four 
elements in two couplets–considered a artful achievement in 
classical Persian poetry. 

⁵(1621) foot: refers to the physical ascension to the Heavens of 
Prophets such as Enoch [Idrîs], Elijah [Ilyâs], Jesus [`îsà], and 
Muhammad (according to Muslim belief, during his “Night 
Journey” and “Ascension”). It also refers to the essential 
superiority of the saintly human being over the angel, according to 
Islamic theology and sufi teachings. 

⁶(1622) You exalt whomever You will: “You exalt whomever You 
will, and you make lowly whomever You will.” Qur’an 3:26. 

⁷(1622) Open (your) wings (and soar): “And similarly, God said to 
an human made of clay, ‘Stretch the wings of your intellect and 
take (wing) to the lofty summit level (of the Heavens) and be the 
adored one of the protecting angels, and drink the wines of 
Paradise.'” (Anqaravi, Commentary) 

⁸(1623) Go (and) become (like) Satan [Iblîs]: refers to verses in the 
Qur’an which describe the arrogance of Satan [Iblîs] who refused 
to bow in obeisance to Adam, after which he boasted of his 
superiority, saying, “I am better than him, (since) You made me 
from fire and You made him from clay.” (7:11-18) 

⁹(1623) the Seventh Earth: “According to some Moslem authorities, 
Hell ‘is situated under the pedestal of the world, above the Bull and 
The Fish (corresponding to the Behemoth and Leviathan of the 
Bible) who support the earth’.” (Nicholson, Commentary) 

¹⁰(1623) deceitfulness [talbîs]: a word play on “Satan” [Iblîs]. 

¹¹(1624) Suhâ: a star in the constellation Ursa Minor. 

¹²(1625) the four temperaments: a theory of personality 
temperaments which originated in the ancient Greek school and 
further developed by Galen, after which they became accepted 
medical doctrine for centuries: sanguine (air warm-most, red 
blood), choleric (fire, hot-dry, yellow bile), phlegmatic (water, 
cold-moist, white blood), and melancholic (earth, cool-dry, black 
bile). “The elements are continually passing into one another 
through the medium of that quality they possess in common… This 
process of transmutation of the simple elements, which is called 
‘generation and corruption’ (kawn u fasád), is brought about by the 
influences of the seven planets, and results in the production of the 
three classes of compound bodies, namely, minerals, vegetables, 
and animals.” (Nicholson, Commentary) 

¹³(1625) the original cause (of any event): “In Moslem philosophy 
God, the necessarily existent Being, is the First Cause whence 
proceeds a series of emanations, beginning with Universal Reason 
(the first Caused) and Universal Soul, through which the Many are 
linked with the One.” (Nicholson, Commentary) 

¹⁴(1625) I am remaining in eternal control: “God’s fiat is absolute. 
Nothing can happen but what He has directly willed and decreed. 
The doctrine of those who conceive Him as a physical cause or as 
acting from the necessity of His nature is entirely false.” (Nicholson, Commentary) 

¹⁵(1627) I change my own practice: “Though God is the only real 
Agent, normally He acts by means of secondary causes (asbáb). 
This ‘custom’, however, is not invariable; God can at any time 
make such causes ineffective or decree that they shall produce 
effects contrary to their nature.” (Nicholson, Commentary) 

¹⁶(1627) I may place (obscuring) dust: “i.e. the illusion of 
intermediate causes.” (Nicholson, Commentary) “…the dust of 
doubt and uncertainty” (Anqaravi, Commentary) 

¹⁷(1628) I will say to the sea: ‘Pay heed! Become full of fire: 
“possibly referring to Qur. LXXXI 6: wa-idhá ‘l-biháru sujjirat.” 
[=”And when the seas (are made to) boil over (on the Day of 
Judgment).”] 

¹⁸(1628) I will say to the fire: ‘Go (and) become a rose bower: “…see 
I 547 [trans. by Nicholson: “He cherisheth Abraham in the fire”] 
and note [“Abraham, having broken the idols of his people, was 
cast by order of Nimrod into a fire, which God changed into a 
delightful rose-garden (I 790, III 10016, VI 4291). See Qur. XXI 
69.”]; but since all the other examples given in this passage are 
eschatological, the poet may have in mind several Traditions 
concerning the extinction of Hell-Fire.” (Nicholson, Commentary) 

¹⁹(1629) I will say to the mountain: ‘Become as light as wool: “Cf. 
Qur. CI 4: ‘and the mountains shall be like carded wool.'” 
(Nicholson, Commentary) 

²⁰(1629) I will say to the sky: ‘Tear down (yourself): Cf. Qur. 
LXXXI 11: wa-idhá ‘l-samá’u kushitat.” [“And when the sky is 
unveiled”]. (Nicholson, Commentary) In a preceding verse (1615), 
Rumi quoted the verse, (trans. by Nicholson: “heaven was rent 
asunder” (Qur’an 84:1). 

²¹(1630) I will say, ‘O sun! Become fastened to the moon: “Qur. 
LXXV 8-9: ‘and when the moon shall be eclipsed and the sun and 
moon united (in darkness).'” (Nicholson, Commentary) 

²²(1630) I will say, ‘O sun! Become fastened to the moon: “i.e. ‘We 
cause the blood-red sun to become dark as musk.” 

²³(1631) We: the “plural of Majesty.” In the Qur’an, the One God 
sometimes speaks as “I” and sometimes as “We”–which should not 
be interpreted as referring to a plurality of Divinities. 

²⁴(1632) he sun and moon (will become) like two black oxen: “At 
the Resurrection the sun and moon, rising together in the west, 
shall be deprived of light and yoked, like two black oxen, in 
obedience to their Lord.” (Nicholson, Commentary) Anqaravi 
states that commentators of the Qur’an have interpreted this as a 
prophecy that on the Last Day the sun and moon will be joined 
together, resembling two black oxen tied together. (Commentary) 

²⁵(1632) yoke [yûgh]: this is the equivalent to the Sanskrit word 
“yoga,” as well as the English word “yoke”–all derived from the 
same ancient Indo-European word. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

1618 gar kon-ad suflî hawâ-wo nâr-râ 
w-ar ze-gol ô be-g’Zarân-ad khâr-râ 

Hâkim-ast-o yaf`alu ‘llâh mâ yashâ 
k-ô ze- `ayn-é dard angêz-ad dawâ 

1620 [gar hawâ-wo nâr-râ suflî kon-ad 
tîragîy-wo dordî-wo Suflî kon-ad] 

w-ar zamîn-o âb-râ `ulwîy kon-ad 
râh-é gardûn-râ ba-pâ maTwî kon-ad 

pas yaqîn shod ke tu`izzu man tashâ 
khâkîyê-râ goft par-hâ bar-goshâ 

âteshê-râ goft raw iblîs shû 
zêr-é haftom khâk bâ talbîs shû 

âdam-é khâkî be-raw tô bar suhâ 
ay balîs-é âteshî raw tâ Sarà 

1625 châr Tab`-o `illat-é awlà ney-am 
dar taSarruf dâyimâ man bâqiy-am 

kâr-é man bê-`illat-ast-o mustaqîm 
hast taqdîr-am, na `illat ay saqîm 

`âdat-é khwad-râ be-gardân-am ba-waqt 
în ghabâr az pêsh be-n’shân-am ba-waqt 

baHr-râ gôy-am ke hîn por nâr shû 
gôy-am âtash-râ ke raw gol-zâr shû 

kûh-râ gôy-am sabak shû ham-chô pashm 
charkh-râ gôy-am forô dar pêsh-é chashm 

1630 gôy-am ay khworshêd maqrûn shû ba-mâh 
har dô-râ sâz-am chô dô abr-é seyâh 

chashma-yé khworshêd-râ sâz-êm khoshk 
chashma-yé khûn-râ ba-fan sâz-êm moshk 

1632 âftâb-o mah chô dô gâw-é seyâh 
yûgh bar gardan be-band-ad-‘shân ilâh 

(mathnawi meter: XoXX XoXX XoX)