Read› Daftar 4› The complete story of that lover who fled from the watchmen into an unknown garden, where he found his beloved, and in his joy, he prayed for the watchmen, saying, 'Perhaps you dislike a thing and it is good for you'› beyt 54
M4:54 — بیند آن معشوقه را او با چراغ / طالب انگشتری در جوی باغ
M4:54
Meaning · به زبانِ تو — Your language · AI
The lover, having fled into a dark garden out of fear, unexpectedly finds his beloved, who is herself searching for a lost ring with a lamp.
This couplet marks the turning point in the story of a lover and the night watchman (ʿasas). The lover, fleeing in terror from the watchman, has just leaped into a random garden. Instead of finding danger or an empty space, he discovers his beloved. The moment is one of profound, unexpected grace.
The imagery is precise and resonant. The beloved is not merely present; she is active, holding a lamp and searching for a lost ring in a small water channel (juy). Her lamp illuminates the darkness that the lover just plunged into, symbolizing how the object of one's deepest desire can bring light to a situation born of fear and confusion. Her search for a lost ring—a symbol of union and covenant—poetically mirrors the lover's own search for her. Divine providence has turned his desperate flight into a perfect, unforeseen arrival.
The surrounding verses reveal the lover's reaction: he is so overcome with joy that he begins to pray for the very watchman whose pursuit caused this blessed outcome. This reinforces the story's central theme, taken from the Qurʾan (2:216): "Perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you." The watchman, an apparent source of affliction, was in reality the instrument of God's grace, driving the lover toward his fated union.
- معشوقه
- The beloved (feminine form). A standard term in Persian love poetry for the object of one's affection, who can be both a human beloved and a symbol for the Divine.
- چراغ
- A lamp or lantern. In Sufi poetry, it often symbolizes guidance, insight, or the light of the Beloved that illuminates the darkness of the world or the seeker's soul.
- طالب
- A seeker, a desirer, one who seeks or requests. It is a key term in Sufism, denoting the spiritual aspirant or disciple on the path to God.
- انگشتری
- A finger ring. A potent symbol of covenant, union, authority (as in a signet ring), and wholeness. Its loss and the search for it often represent a disruption in a relationship that must be restored.
- جوی
- A small stream, brook, or irrigation channel. A common feature in a Persian garden (*bāgh*), often symbolizing the flow of life, grace, or time.
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