Shafaqna India: The Holy Quran is the springtime of hearts, the balm for all afflictions, the fountainhead of all wisdom, the dispeller of darkness, and the most steadfast throne of cognition and gnosis. Throughout fourteen centuries, it has exerted profound influences—both subtle and manifest—upon the tapestry of human beings’ individual and collective existence.
Among its most significant legacies is the deep permeation of its essence into the intellect of the great poets and luminaries of Persian literature, most notably Rumi. By weaving sublime Quranic themes into his tapestry, Rumi does more than merely demonstrate his mastery over religious lexicon, phraseology, and motif; he invokes the Divine Word to amplify the resonance of his own voice.
According to Shafaqna, many critics maintain that Rumi’s indebtedness to the Holy Quran within the Masnavi-e Ma’navi is so profound that a true comprehension of this wondrous masterpiece remains unattainable without a deep familiarity with the Quran itself. For beyond the mere adoption of Quranic parables and the exegesis of specific verses, the very spiritual fabric of the Masnavi is saturated with Quranic terminology and sacred expressions.
A portrait of the Divine revelation
The Holy Quran, when speaking of revelation, makes no mention of the intellect; rather, its sole concern is the heart of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The meaning of this statement is that the Quran was not bestowed upon the Prophet (PBUH) through the power of reason or intellectual faculty; rather, it was the Prophet’s (PBUH) heart that attained a state beyond our power of imagination, and in that state, it acquired the capacity to apprehend and behold those sublime realities.
In Rumi’s view, this heavenly Word, descending from the unseen source, was manifested upon the vessel of the Noble Prophet’s heart, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, and then spoken forth from his blessed tongue:
Though the Quran issues from the Prophet’s lips,
Whoever says otherwise has spoken falsehood and is an unbeliever.
Furthermore, in the ninth verse of Surah Al-Hijr, it is proclaimed:
“Verily, We have sent down the Dhikr (the Reminder), and surely, We are its Guardian.”
This verse is interpreted to mean that the Quran is a miracle as radiant as the sun, an all-encompassing repository of all divine wisdom and the truths of the entire cosmos. It addresses humanity through diverse modes and forms; yet, no power exists to alter its essence, nor can any hand reach it to diminish or augment its sanctity. Inspired by this sublime verse, Rumi composed the following lines:
Though a hundred tongues may chant the Name of the Mother of the Book,
None can grasp this miracle, as none can grasp the sun.
Whether to steal from it, or to add to its splendor,
None has the capacity who possesses but a single word of it.
Joseph and the Pharaoh’s vision: A narrative interpretation
One fateful night, the Pharaoh of Egypt was seized by a haunting vision in his slumber: seven gaunt, wretched cows devouring seven sleek and well-fed ones. Disturbed, he summoned the kingdom’s entire retinue of seers, mystics, and dream-interpreters, yet they stood bewildered, for the vision eluded their understanding.
It was then that a young man, recalling the extraordinary insight of a captive named Joseph, spoke of his wisdom. The Pharaoh dispatched envoys to the prison, seeking a revelation from the prisoner. This narrative is enshrined in the Holy Quran, Surah Yusuf (12:43), where the King declares:
“And the King said: ‘I see seven fat cows being devoured by seven lean ones, and seven green ears of corn alongside seven withered ones. O, my council! Counsel me on my vision, if you possess the art of interpretation.’” Quran (12:43)
Inspired by this profound moment, the great poet Rumi immortalized the enigma in these verses:
Seven cows, lean and steeped in spite,
Consume the seven, plump and bright.
Contemplation of the Quran
Reciters of the Quran are divided into three distinct groups:
- The first are those who make the recitation of the Quran their worldly livelihood, seeking through it the patronage of kings and the collection of tributes, striving for precedence and status among men.
- The second are those who commit the letters and the forms of the Quran to memory, yet neglect its boundaries and cast its true essence behind them.
- The third are those who recite the Quran and, through its medicinal power, heal the afflictions of their own hearts. By its grace, they spend their nights in vigil and worship, and their days in fasting and thirst; they frequent the mosques, find sanctuary within them, and rise from the soft comforts of their beds.
Rumi maintains that the ultimate purpose of the descent of the Quran—and indeed every Divine Book—is to awaken humanity and prompt them to act upon its commands, rather than to engage in mere repetition, to weave long-winded disputations over its words, or to transform it into a tool for the whims of the ego and a pretext for contention and debate.
Read, yet look with the eyes of the prophets and the holy,
Or else thy reading is but a wandering through fables;
Thy soul’s bird will find the cage too tight,
For a bird held captive by bars and confinement
Will never seek to break free from the shadows of the mind.
The Resurrection of the dead: A miraculous sign in Surah Al-‘Imran
The Holy Quran, in the forty-ninth verse of Surah Al-‘Imran, chronicles the miraculous mission of Jesus Christ (A) to the Children of Israel—a testament to his divine authority:
“And he shall be a messenger to the Children of Israel, [declaring]: ‘I have come to you with a sign from your Lord: I shall fashion for you, out of clay, the likeness of a bird, and I shall breathe into it, and by the leave of God, it shall take flight. I shall heal the blind from birth, and the leper, and I shall raise the dead, by the leave of God. I shall tell you what you eat and what you store away in your homes. Truly, in all this, there is a sign for you, if you are among the believers.’” (Quran 3:49)
This sublime passage serves as the spiritual fountainhead for Rumi’s evocative verses, where he juxtaposes the divine power of the Prophet with the worldly resentment of his detractors:
The Christ restores the silent dead to breath,
While, in his rage, the skeptic gnaws his beard at death.
The Scorners of the Sacred Word
Rumi, in reply to those who claimed that the Masnavi was devoid of lofty mysteries and spiritual realities, and that Sufi training had not been systematically arranged in it as it had been in the treatises of the earlier masters, alludes to the eighty-third verse of Surah al-Mu’minun:
“We were promised this before, we and our forefathers; this is nothing but the tales of the ancients.” (Quran 23:83)
He thereby suggests that it is the habit of fault-finders, the envious, and the spiteful—those who cannot endure the success of others. Did not the deniers of the Noble Quran likewise say: “This is nothing but the tales of the ancients”? In response to such adversaries and detractors, the Exalted God addresses His Noble Prophet, saying:
“Say: If mankind and jinn were to gather together to produce the like of this Quran, they could not produce its like, even if they were to assist one another.”
The following verses were composed by Rumi in inspiration from this very story:
When the Book of God appeared among them,
Even then, those unbelievers cast such taunts.
They said: “These are but ancient tales,
No depth of insight, no exalted truth.”
Children may understand its meaning;
It contains naught but what is pleasing or displeasing.”
He said: “If it appears so easy to thee,
Then recite but a single surah of such ease.
Let the jinn and mankind, and all who are skilled in craft,
Bring forth but one verse like unto this.
Rumi, the foremost mystic poet of all ages
Mowlana Jalal al-Din Mohammad Balkhi (Rumi), known as the foremost mystic poet in Iran and around the world, is more than just a poet and mystic. He is a global teacher whose eternal message, namely love, continues to guide humanity today. His eventful life, from Balkh to Konya, from childhood in a scholarly family to a great transformation through Shams Tabrizi, is full of a human and divine narrative.
His works, such as the Masnavi-ye Ma’navi and the Divan-e Shams, while considered a treasure for the Persian language, belong to all of humanity. The influence of Mowlana’s thoughts in the East and West is a testament to the universality of his message. In a time when humanity is grappling more than ever with crises of identity, violence, and separation, revisiting Mowlana’s ideas can be a balm for the wounds of the human soul. Mowlana is the preeminent figure of mysticism and love; a figure who transformed the history, culture, and literature of Iran and the world, and still calls people to peace, affection, and unity with his words.
Extensive translations of his works into English, German, French, and many other languages have made his message global. Scholars such as Annemarie Schimmel and Franklin Lewis have written important works about Mowlana. In America, translated poems by Mowlana have repeatedly appeared on bestseller lists and have even inspired contemporary artists, musicians, and writers. Today, Mowlana is considered a symbol of dialogue between cultures and religions. His message of love and unity transcends political and religious borders, inviting people worldwide to empathy.
Source: Quran.isca, Hawzah.net, Taghrib News
