The Garden Within

Only the Marks of the Marks

In the orchard a certain Ṣúfí laid his face in Ṣúfí fashion upon his knee for the sake of (mystical) revelation;Then he sank deep down into himself. An impertinent fellow was annoyed by his semblance of slumber.“Why,” said he, “dost thou sleep? Nay, look at the vines, behold these trees and marks (of Divine mercy) and green plants.Hearken to the command of God, for He hath said, ‘Look ye’: turn thy face towards these marks of (Divine) mercy.”He replied, “O man of vanity, its marks are (within) the heart: that (which is) without is only the marks of the marks.”The (real) orchards and verdure are in the very essence of the soul: the reflexion thereof upon (that which is) without is as (the reflexion) in running water.In the water there is (only) the phantom (reflected image) of the orchard, which quivers on account of the subtle quality of the water.The (real) orchards and fruits are within the heart: the reflexion of their beauty is (falling) upon this water and earth (the external world).

Masnavi IV.1358–1365 · tr. R. A. Nicholson, 1930
First attested
1278No autograph survives. The oldest witness is the Qoniya manuscript (G), dated 677 A.H. = A.D. 1278, which Nicholson judged “the most authoritative text of the Mathnawi”; he wrote in April 1930 that his text “from Book III, v. 2836, to the end of Book IV is founded on that ancient and admirable MS.”, so this story, at IV.1358–1372, stands in the stretch he edited from the oldest copy.

Both sides argue from the Qurʾān. The passer-by's “Look ye” (IV.1361) is the first word of Qurʾān 30:50, on God's mercy reviving the earth after its death; four lines after the Sufi's answer, the world God “called the abode of deception” (IV.1366) echoes Qurʾān 57:20, the worldly life as the enjoyment of delusion.

Mathnawī IV.1361–1366, Nicholson's translation (1930); Qurʾān 30:50 and 57:20, as identified in Ibrahim Gamard's own notes on IV.1361 and IV.1366 at dar-al-masnavi.org (n-IV-1358)

Told to lift his head and look at the garden, a Sufi answers that the real orchards are within the heart.

Mathnawī IV.1358–1372, set inside the story of Solomon, who went each morning into the Mosque to see the new plants there. The line before it says the heart with a pure eye sees spiritual herbs invisible to the vulgar (IV.1357). In an orchard a Sufi sits with his face on his knee for mystical revelation. An impertinent fellow, annoyed at what looks like sleep, tells him to look at the vines and trees, citing God's command “Look ye”. The Sufi answers that the marks are within the heart and what is without is only the marks of the marks. Rūmī runs on: the outward world is the reflexion of the hearts of holy men; the deceived make merry over a phantom and wake in the grave crying “alas”; happy he that died before death (IV.1372). Solomon's story then resumes with the carob. The passage here is IV.1358–1365.

Light

It relocates the garden rather than despising it: the verdure is real, but its source is in the soul, and what is seen outside quivers like an orchard reflected in running water (IV.1363–1364).

Shadow

It can license turning away from the world. The man who asks the Sufi to look at God's marks is quoting the Qurʾān (IV.1361), yet he is answered “O man of vanity”, and five lines later the visible garden is the abode of deception (IV.1366).

Sources and verification6 sources · 4 links

Primary source

Scholarship

The tradition itself

Further reading

  • Ibrahim Gamard, masnavi.net, parallel Persian and English text of the MathnawīNicholson's English of IV.1358 beside the Persian, confirming the line number. The site prints “Súfí”; the 1930 page (p. 347) prints “Ṣúfí”, with the dot below, and the verse here follows the page.

    In the orchard a certain Súfí laid his face in Súfí fashion upon his knee for the sake of (mystical) revelation;

Linked entries

  • Part ofThe MasnaviAttested

    Mathnawī IV.1358–1365, inside the story at IV.1358–1372, which interrupts the story of Solomon and the carob.

  • Attributed toRūmīAttested

    Told in Rūmī's Mathnawī, Book IV, lines 1358–1372, as the story of the Sufi meditating in the garden.

  • Set againstDaqūqī and the Seven CandlesAttested

    Both turn on a garden others cannot see: Daqūqī's fruit-laden trees stand unseen beside a starving caravan, and the Sufi of Book IV says the real orchards are within the heart.

  • Set againstThe Three FishAttested

    Both turn on the saying 'die before you die': here it saves a fish at IV.2272–2273; at IV.1372 happy is he that died before death and got scent of the vineyard's origin.

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