The Masnavi, Book One (Oxford World's Classics)

Encyclo-
paedia Iranica). ‘Mansur’s wine’ therefore refers to a particularly intoxi-
cating love for God.
1831 Each day He’s busy with a new affair: Koran 55: 29, where it refers to
God’s constant activity, as He bestows favours on His creation.
1853 The mountain beckoned John the Baptist near: this alludes to a tradition
among the ‘Stories of the Prophets’ which relates that a mountain
opened itself up to protect John the Baptist from his pursuers.
1882 Just like the beardless youth whom they call ‘lord’: a reference to the
practice by some Su
fi groups of contemplating divine beauty in the
form of pre-pubescent boys. Rumi strongly disapproves of this practice.
1913–14 While Joseph’s scent . . . be like Jacob–cry!: see note to v. 125.
1915–17 Listen to this advice from Sana
 i: Here Rumi quotes verses from a
ghazal from the collection, or Divan, of Hakim Sana

i (concerning
whom, see Introduction).
1925 The Resurrection: this refers to the end of time when the dead are resur-
rected and the truth is revealed. Rumi uses this Koranic image fre-
quently to represent the experience of mystical enlightenment, through
which reality can be witnessed in this life.
1934 Recite: ‘Community of jinn and men . . . if you can pass beyond, go then:
Koran 
55: 33, where God challenges His creatures to transcend heaven
and earth, in order to point out that they are unable to do so without His
authority.
1936 not: the negative particle and word for ‘no’ in Arabic, with which begins
the Muslim testimony of faith (There is no deity but God). Rumi urges
the reader to pass beyond negation to the a
ffirmation of God expressed
in the second part of this testimony, as exempli
fied by the saints in
v. 
1935.
1943 God’s blast: see note to v. 750.
1944 that which in Mary was revealed: meaning the Divine Spirit.
1948 through me you hear and see: part of a Sacred Tradition, or saying of the
Prophet in which he presents a message from God in his own words,
which is frequently cited in Su
fi literature. God affirms that his wor-
shippers continue to draw close to Him through extra acts of devotion
Notes to pages 
112–120
254

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until they eventually see and hear through Him, and thus become
annihilated in Him. See further Nicholson, vii (Commentary), 
131.
1949 ‘God’s for him’: from a saying of the Prophet Mohammad which states
that God is there for whoever should devote himself to Him. It is
used here to allude to subsistence in God after self-annihilation. See
further Nicholson, vii (Commentary), 
131.
1967 the Prophet’s heavenly tree: the tree of paradise called ‘Tuba’ in the
Islamic tradition.
1969–70 But they refused to shoulder it . . . they shrank from it: Koran 33: 73,
concerning the primordial trust accepted by Man to be His vicegerent in
creation, after the heavens and the earth had shrunk from such a
weighty responsibility (see note to v. 
514).
1972 For just a bite Loqman is held at bay: Rumi plays on the similarity
between his name and the Arabic word for bite or morsel (
loqma). For
Loqman, see Glossary.
1983 redhead: the name the Prophet gave to his wife Aisha (see Glossary).
1984 ‘And throw a horseshoe in the fire as well’: this refers to the use of horse-
shoes as charms, by, for instance, writing the name of the object of one’s
desire on a horseshoe and throwing it in a 
fire, in order to bring that
person under one’s control (see further, Nicholson, vii (Commentary),
135). It is used here primarily because of the association with things red:
rubies, redhead, glowing horseshoe in a 
fire.
1997–9 Mohammad said, ‘Belal, refresh us all . . . dazed!’: Belal was a
freed Abyssinian slave, who became a Companion of the Prophet
Mohammad. On account of his attractive and powerful voice, he was
chosen by the Prophet to serve as the 
first muezzin.
2001 His dawn prayer thus was subject to delay: allusion to the tradition that the
Prophet and his followers once woke up only after the time for the dawn
prayer had already passed.
2005 the Invisible: the unseen spiritual world.
2015 Salt made . . . more eloquent: essentially a play on the Arabic and Persian
words for ‘salt’, cognates of which can also mean ‘excellent’ and ‘well-
formed’, respectively. A