The Masnavi, Book Two Quotes

“When someone is counting out
gold for you, don't look at your hands,
or the gold. Look at the giver.”
― Mawlana Jalal al-Din Rumi, The Masnavi, Book Two

“Attraction is possessed by all things here:
Warmth draws warm things, the cold pulls cold things near;
Eternal ones attract each other, while
The worthless just attract the vain and vile;
Those made of fire attract just the same kind;
Those filled with light draw their own sort, you’ll find...”
― Jawid Mojaddedi, The Masnavi, Book Two

“What else are mirrors meant for then
But so each knows himself from other men!’
Your mirrors show the husk and not the kernel;
The soul-revealing mirror is eternal:
This mirror for the soul is the saint’s face,
The one who is beyond all time and space—
‘Heart, seek a mirror of this type!’ I’d scream,
‘Reach for the ocean, and not a mere stream!”
― Jawid Mojaddedi, The Masnavi, Book Two

“While eyes are shut the pain will not subside,
They yearn to join with light that is outside;
It’s due to your eyes’ light’s attracting pull,
Which seeks light rays as soon as possible.
If your eyes feel some pain while open, then

When blocked of transient light, pain fills your eyes,
So you should open them, if you are wise...”
― Jawid Mojaddedi, The Masnavi, Book Two

“So many prayers request catastrophe,
But God opts not to listen mercifully.”
― Jawid Mojaddedi, The Masnavi, Book Two

“From a snake-catcher someone stole a snake;
The fool saw as success this huge mistake
From that snake’s bite its owner thus was spared,
It killed the thief who’d now become ensnared.
The owner saw the thief as he lay dead:

I’d prayed to find this wretch eventually
To claim my snake, then take it home with me
Thank heavens, God chose not to answer it:

So many prayers request catastrophe,
But God opts not to listen mercifully.”
― Jawid Mojaddedi, The Masnavi, Book Two

“A jasper from a pearl you can distinguish
The day belief in your self you relinquish,”
― Jawid Mojaddedi, The Masnavi, Book Two

“What else are mirrors meant for then
95
But so each knows himself from other men!’
Your mirrors show the husk and not the kernel;
The soul-revealing mirror is eternal:
This mirror for the soul is the saint’s face,
The one who is beyond all time and space—
‘Heart, seek a mirror of this type!’ I’d scream,
‘Reach for the ocean, and not a mere stream!”
― Jawid Mojaddedi, The Masnavi, Book Two

“What else are mirrors meant for then,
But so each knows himself from other men....”
― Jawid Mojaddedi, The Masnavi, Book Two